Groundhog Day
by dooski
Summary: Alec wakes up to what should be just another day. But that all changes when he does again, and again… Will reliving the same day over and over again change his perspective? Will he ever wake up to tomorrow? challenge fic
1. Chapter 1: It's a Beautiful Day

**a/n**: Okay, so this is a challenge fic from **Deanaholic** over at nunswithpens. Here is the challenge:

Groundhog Day  
You don't have to title it that, but i'm using it for refrence. has anyone ever seen the movie_ Groundhog Day_? no? ok, let me sum up in one sentance: Man has to relive the same Day over and over again untill he gets it right. apply that to DA

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**a/n: **Admittedly, this version of Alec is more Dean-like (from Supernatural) than in any of my other fics. I usually have Alec be more like the one after Hello Goodbye, caring and devoted to Max. If you are thinking it is a bit OOC, please just bear with me. I'm taking the setting of Terminal City and combining it with the Alec from Designate This.  
You don't have to have seen this movie to understand this fic! It _might_ add just a little bit to the humor, but it's not necessary.

**Setting**: after Hello Goodbye, but again, please note Alec's persona is how he was in Designate This  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dark Angel or the characters; Groundhog Day is a movie starring Bill Murray  
**Pairing**: none at the start, leading up to a nice, fluffy MA ending (as if I'd write anything else!)  
**Genre**: Humor  
**Rating**: T (because dooski likes to toss in cuss words sometimes :D Sorry!)

Alec doesn't believe in 'love'. Max is hot but annoying. Alec is superior to everyone else, being a transgenic. If he didn't personally do it, it's not his problem.  
That's how Alec sees things. Will reliving the same day over and over again change his perspective and help him grow as a person? Will he ever get to see tomorrow?

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**Chapter 1**

"_You came along and tore this wall down around me, Looks like you found me... now I know why I felt like shit when I woke up this morning…"_

The song ended with a swift movement of Alec's hand to shut the radio off. He stared at the clock. _6 A.M? _"I could have sworn that I set this for later…" Alec mumbled, still groggy and not quite awake. "And I never have the radio alarm…" he realized out loud.

Alec stepped outside his door to grab the paper. A brilliant idea of Max's to always be on top of what was going on. It was good, she had reasoned, to have a head's up on whatever slant White was sending their way in the papers. The way the media was reacting, it wouldn't be long before really troubling news was the headline.

Alec stared at the main article. "Man Rescues Dog," he read. "Oh, isn't that cute?" He took it as a sign that as usual, Max was overreacting and being over-cautious. _A trait she picked up from that 'not like that' boyfriend of hers? _Alec reasoned, but didn't make up his mind on it yet. _Whatever._ He didn't care one way or the other. It was just a bit annoying, their constant denial. Alec got bored easily, and watching a love-sick couple in denial was no exception. _Yeah, they have a great relationship!_ Alec thought with a slight laugh as he mocked them in his head.

He flipped on the TV and was pleased to see an image of himself staring back at him. They were doing a story on the recent court decision to let the transgenics temporarily live freely in Terminal City. _Like the ordinaries had a choice, _Alec thought with cold sarcasm. Ordinary people couldn't take the air quality of Terminal City without suffering damages due to its toxicity.

Alec was sure that Max would be pissed that the anchor chose to show his interview as opposed to hers. The thought would have brought an amused smirk to his handsome face, if one wasn't already in place. _Max should've expected it_, he reasoned. The female anchor had been flirting with him the entire time. That sort of attention wasn't anything new to Alec. He was genetically designed to be better looking.

_And who can blame the anchor for showing me? It's not her fault I'm so good-looking!_ he briefly complimented himself as he eyed the screen one more time. "Now where was I?" he asked the television Alec while it was muted. A quick image flashed through his mind of Logan and Max holding hands all cutesy with rubber gloves brought him back to his train of thought. "Aww, gag!" he complained. "Great way to start the morning, Alec!"

He looked again at the TV and had a quick, mock conversation with himself. "Oh, yeah! They are just great together! I wish I could be so romantic with cleaning supplies!" The thought actually gave Alec an idea. "You really think so, buddy?" he asked the TV, as if his reflection had come up with the plan instead of him. "You know, the more you bring it up, I'd have to agree. You're just brilliant, you know that!" he complimented himself on the screen.

He walked down the stairs, disappointed that he didn't have the time to eat a real breakfast, what with Max's 'celebration' looming.

Alec had initially laughed at her idea to unite the transgenics by means of a 'housewarming' party at Terminal City. Max had taken advantage of the temporary hiatus on fighting between the two sides and insisted it was a sign of transgenic victory, one that called for celebration. Alec had initially tried to brush her plan off as meaningless, just like the 'hiatus', which really had solved nothing. It only put their problems on hold. But after a few sessions of her telling him what an insensitive prick he was, it sunk in that she was serious. And as her second-in-command, he was required to attend.

_Ugh, I can't wait…_ he mentally tried to prepare himself as he lifted his hand over his face in annoyance for what lay ahead.

"Bagel, Mr…?" the receptionist, an elderly woman asked him, trailing as she realized she didn't know his name. She held a hospitable smile and it was clear that she could sense he was in a hurry.

"Just call me Alec," he offered, almost cringing at being referred to as a 'Mr' anyone. He grinned and tried to be polite even though he couldn't care less about one of their second rate bagels. The dump he was staying at was one of the worst hotels he'd ever scaled. And he was actually _paying _this time!

Another brilliant idea of Max's. She was planning on redecorating the whole place for the celebration. Which meant he had to relocate for a few days. Alec groaned inwardly, grateful that it would all be over within a day and a half.

"A bagel?" he asked her, looking at her like she couldn't be serious.

The woman only nodded with her never-fading smile.

Alec nodded. Clearly, she wasn't very perceptive. "No, thanks!" he brushed her off as he rushed out the door.

Before heading to Max's, he needed to fulfill his little plan. He knew it was mean. She'd probably be pissed. But since when was that new for him?

He also was irritated that ever since meeting Max, he was starting to reconsider his actions. The old Alec would have no hesitations about blowing off the celebration. But here he was, awake at the butt crack of dawn, all for Max. The least she could do was humor him by getting that predictable, pissed off reaction upon receiving her gift.

"First stop…" he began as he pulled on his shades. "The convenience store." He smiled as he pictured the pair of latex gloves that had his name on them.

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Just as Alec got on his bike, his cell phone rang. A twisted mixture of annoyance and amusement shot through him as his eyes rolled over the name of the caller.

"Max," he greeted happily into the phone. "I was just thinkin' about you! To what do I owe the pleasure?" He revved his engine once before getting on the road.

"_Are you on the road?" she asked, clearly shocked._

"Why, yes, Max, I sure am. Great deduction there. Was it the engine that gave it away?" he sarcastically drawled.

"_Are you insane?!" she asked him._

"Max, you've said some pretty nasty things to me before, but accusing me of mental insanity? That's a new low, even for you." He grinned, picturing the death glare she was probably giving the phone right now.

"_Shut up!" she snapped._

"There's the Maxie we all know and love!" he continued to mock her.

"_Have you even watched the news, you idiot!" she spat into the phone._

"Well, Max, as you so graciously _suggested_ by means of an order that I keep up on the news, I took a glance at the paper this morning. Cute little story about a dog. A real tear-jerker. I'm sure you took that one to heart, with your _dog_-boy friend."

"_Alec, if you were right here in front of my face, I'd slap you!" she continued._

"I'm sure you would!" Alec replied. "Hey, let me make it up to you. I'm going to the store right now to get a gift for you."

"_Alec, you are such an idiot! First of all, what makes you think I even _want _a gift from you? And second of all, check out the weather prediction. We're getting snowed-in. It's gonna hit us this afternoon. I need you here at Terminal City!"_

"Keep your shirt on!" Alec replied. "I'll be there later. With a gift."

"_Alec!" Max hissed into the phone. "You need to get your ass here, _now. _Forget about the stupid gift, whatever it is! We planned on the celebration. If this weather hits us like it's supposed to, we have to get this started right away. Everyone is counting on you!"_

"Their biggest mistake," Alec replied coldly into the phone. "See you in a few, Maxie!" With that he hung up on her.

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Max stared at the phone in shock before punching her fist into the wall. "What an ass!" she exclaimed.

She ignored the nagging connection she felt to him, being that she had said similar words to Logan once upon a time when she was still adjusting to doing the right thing.

"Is Alec coming?" a little X6 who was busy making the finishing touches on the decorations asked.

"He'll be here," she insisted. A thought crossed through her mind to go looking for him herself. _He'll be here_, she repeated in her mind, _whether he wants to or not!_

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Alec exited the store with a cocky grin on his face. He was positive that Max wouldn't appreciate the gesture. _Which is exactly what I'm banking on!_, he thought with a mischievous grin.

"Alec!" someone shouted to him.

Alec turned to find a beaming Normal staring back at him. Alec again groaned inwardly. It was the weekend! He put up with Normal's twisted fixation to him enough at work. Having to make casual conversation with the guy in the street on a day off was just too much.

"Alec! What are you doing here?!" Normal asked excitedly.

Alec put on a tight smile before finally meeting the man's stare. "Normal! Oh, you know, just bought a couple of things."

Normal eyed the bag nosily. "No…boxing gloves in there?" he asked.

Alec rolled his eyes. "No, a different kind of glove. I'm an equal opportunity glove-shopper. Gotta give the cleaning ones some love, too." He finished with a dramatic pat on Normal's back.

"Well, it's been real! But I've really got to go!" Alec quickly tried to excuse himself. With that, he quickly side-stepped…right into a slushy puddle.

"Woo-Hoo-Hoo! Gotta watch out for that one!" Normal said, laughing while pointing to the step. "It's a doozie!" he finished with laughter.

Alec cursed inwardly. He would have noticed the stupid thing if Normal hadn't been distracting him by being annoying and weird. He took a final glance at Normal's amused face before turning around, rolling his eyes, and walking across the street to where he'd parked his bike.

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Alec strolled into the city, momentarily amazed by the looks of the place. They really had done a great job. He could tell in all the details of the trimmings that they did.

"Alec!" someone greeted him. As soon as he turned, his face was struck with a paintbrush.

"Oh, that's just lovely," he commented with annoyance. He glanced at the attacker, noting that it was an over-eager looking X6. "Nice shot, there, bud," he commented. "But can you do it…_again?_" He finished by chucking it back at the kid, playfully but with accuracy.

The kid giggled and made a face at Alec, who returned by playfully tackling him to the ground. "You're gonna get it now!" Alec mock warned him before playfully tickling his sides.

Max came in to interrupt the fun at the perfect moment- just in time to see Alec on top of the kid, which she immediately assumed to be nothing short of a true attack.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled as she quickly jumped at the two of them, pushing Alec off the poor kid.

As she pushed him away, the kid escaped easily, and Alec instead held onto Max. She glared at him while struggling to get free. "Let go of me!" she demanded, eyeing his arms as he entangled her.

Alec only responded with a smirk as he flipped her over so that he was on top of her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she spat at him, still struggling to get free, which included kneeing him hard in the gut.

Alec flashed her an amused stare while he grinned deeper. "Geez, Max. Why are you always so rough? You like it that way, huh?" He then proceeded to shove her further into the ground.

"Alec!" she yelled in protest as she head-butted his forehead in just the right spot, where any normal person struck would fall into unconsciousness.

Unfortunately, Alec was no normal person. But clearly, she'd done a good job of giving him a maddening headache. "Ow!" he complained as he let her go. "Geez! What the hell is wrong with you? I was just playin' around!"

Max stood up and made a dramatic gesture of brushing the dirt off her shoulders before narrowing her eyes at him. "That was playing for you?" she asked, motioning to his aching head. "Guess I don't play well with others," she excused her actions, while brushing off any concern for his injuries.

She turned to the X6, who was now awkwardly glancing between the two of them, holding back giggles at their ridiculous sight. "Are you okay?" she asked the X6.

The transgenic nodded with a grin, before withdrawing while laughing quietly.

As soon as the kid was out of sight, Max slapped Alec upside the head. "Ow!" he complained, rubbing the sore spot. "Still in pain here!" he reminded her as he gave her a look that she was crazy.

Max only deepened her glare. "What the hell is wrong with _me_?" she repeated his question. "What the hell is wrong with _you_?"

Alec gave her a pouty, mock hurt face. "Max, that hurts my feelings." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a plastic shopping bag that he handed to her. "Here, my contribution to the celebration, other than pallin' around with the little kids."

Max eyed him suspiciously before snatching the bag out of his hands. She stared into it and then looked up at him with a disgusted stare. "Is this some kind of sick joke?" she asked him.

Alec feigned a look of surprise at her anger. "What? I thought it would come in handy!" He grinned at his lame joke. "Get it, _hand-_y?"

Max shoved the bag back at him, sending a shock of pain through him, as it went straight to the place on his gut where she'd kneed him earlier. "Glad you care," she told him in a surprisingly soft voice that was lacking the full 'pissed off' effect he'd been anticipating. "But I don't need it."

"What do you mean?" Alec asked her, opening up. She looked in pain, and not the 'you're a pain in my ass' type. He didn't like to see her so troubled.

Max shrugged, but couldn't hide the hurt and somewhat guilty look from her dark eyes.

"Max," he pressed. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

Max unfolded her arms and decided, for whatever reason, to come clean with him.

"Logan and I…" she began, trying to fight the urge to cry. She swallowed before finishing. "We're not together anymore," she stated simply as she looked away, avoiding his gaze.

Alec rolled his eyes once quickly before placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, motioning for her to return his stare. "Max, you've said that before," he told her. "Come on, we both know that's not true. It's okay for you to be with him." He flashed her a cocky smile, "I just like to give you a hard time, sometimes!"

Max looked deep into his eyes, she had to tell him sooner or later. Why not now? "I told Logan we were together," she informed him.

Alec couldn't stop the shocked look from overtaking his face. "What?" he asked simply.

Max shrugged innocently. "He saw us the other morning, and assumed-"

"And you didn't correct him?" Alec asked with a shocked look. Just when he thought he and Max were getting close for once, and she had to go and use him like the boy next door.

Max looked up at him, her eyes determined. So there was no way she was backing down from her decision. "Look, it's easier for everyone if he thinks we're together. He heard about the celebration today, and he was insisting on coming. It was the only way I could think of to keep him away from here."

Alec nodded as the understanding hit him. "Oh, so just, blame Alec! Cause he's just the kind of jerk that'd steal someone else's girl."

Max was slightly taken aback. She'd expected him to be less than thrilled with her actions, but she hadn't anticipated the hurt look he was giving her. It reminded her of the way he acted when she'd come clean to him about Ben.

Alec couldn't help continuing his protest. "Come on, Max! You could have told him- anything! That you didn't want to see him anymore. That today is just for transgenics. That you've moved on. Why'd you have to drag me into it?"

Max didn't know what to say to him. Somehow, his accusing words were really hitting home with her. She was starting to rethink her decision, something she never pictured happening, least of all because of a reaction from Alec.

Max opened her mouth to say something, but Alec brushed it off. "You know what, forget it. I'm not gonna be any part in this."

"Alec!" Max protested.

"Logan's not coming today?" Alec gathered. "Fine. But we've still got to go get his contributions for tonight. You knew that he sent in for a huge package for tonight, didn't you?"

Max nodded, "Yeah, I was gonna have one of the X4's go get it."

"I'll get it," Alec offered. He needed to get away from her anyway for a moment to clear his head.

"Alec!" Max complained. "Don't, come on, I don't want you to see each other right now. It's not necessary. Besides, the snow is coming."

"I'll be quick," Alec returned briefly before slinging a backpack over his shoulder and leaving.

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"Logan," Alec greeted with a nod. He eyed the man with apprehension. Alec knew Logan had patience. The fact that he still held onto a virus-strained relationship with Max when he couldn't even touch her was proof enough of that. But he also knew that patience wasn't without end. He'd landed in the hospital before from forgetting to always keep his distance from Max.

Logan gave Alec a quick glance before returning to what he was doing, which consisted of breaking wood for an apparent fire. Normally, the situation would be amusing for Alec. Logan wasn't used to not having money. Having to use a fireplace for warmth instead of as a flashy way to impress a girl was probably new to him.

But thanks to Max's brash decision, Alec couldn't enjoy the moment. On the contrary, he actually felt bad for the guy. He was sure that the last person Logan wanted to see was him.

"What are you doing here, Alec?" Logan asked without looking him in the eye.

Alec scratched the back of his head. He had come for the package. But he also wanted to set the record straight. "You had a box of supplies for tonight…?" he began.

"On the table," Logan tersely replied.

Alec's eyes rolled over a large container that clearly held a lot of last minute supplies for their celebration. "So, Logan-"

"Snow's coming, Alec. That's why I'm building a fire. You guys should probably do a quick inventory of heating supplies," Logan interrupted him.

"We'll be fine, Logan. But thanks for the concern." Alec paused before continuing. He hadn't expected the situation to be so awkward. He didn't know any other way to say it than to just put it out there. "Listen, about Max and I-"

"She already told me," Logan interrupted him. "Just…" he trailed as he finally took a moment to meet Alec's gaze with his own. He studied Alec for a moment before looking back to his firewood. "Treat her right."

Alec was stunned by the man's words. Love wasn't an emotion that Alec had seen much of, being raised at Manticore. He'd been taught that it was just another of the human emotions that he had at his disposal, to use and manipulate when he pleased. He'd always poked fun at the weird 'not like that' relationship that Max and Logan shared, even though deep down he believed it was real.

Alec was excellent at reading people. There was no denying it, Logan's eyes held true love for Max.

"I never gave up on us," Logan continued, surprising himself as well as Alec with his openness. "We've been through a lot together."

Alec didn't really want to take the time to wonder why Logan loved Max. He hadn't considered it before because it seemed obvious- she was hot. She was transgenic. Combine that with Logan's incessant need to uncover the truth and be all-powerful behind a computer screen, and it was clear that he wouldn't let go of Max once he'd rested his ravenous eyes on her.

Alec had guessed that somewhere along the lines, it had gotten deeper than that, which usually led to the part that made him respond with a gagging reflex. He didn't need to waste time being 'deep'.

But now that it was staring him in the face, he couldn't help contemplating it, this idea of 'love'.

"But I guess she wanted someone who could understand her more. Someone that knows exactly where she's coming from."

_Oh, this is too much_, Alec thought to himself, finally putting his foot down. He changed his demeanor without thinking to be more true to his usual form- nonchalant and cocky. He wasn't going to stand here and let Logan see that he was 'touched' by his words. _Gag_.

"I think you're reading into this just a little too much, Logan," Alec told him. Alec knew for certain that he didn't understand Max. He had yet to figure out why she held such pointless attachments to her 'siblings'. He still didn't know what the point was in celebrating 'freedom' to a toxic city that no one else wanted to habitat anyway. Understanding was definitely not the word he would use to describe his thoughts of Max.

"Thanks for the supplies," Alec mumbled before hoisting up the box and departing.

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**a/n**: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of the start! 


	2. Chapter 2: What Happened To Tomorrow?

**a/n**: Thanks everyone for the encouraging reviews! You guys really make me day :D  
And on that note, here's the next chapie!

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**Chapter 2: What Happened To Tomorrow?**

The ride back to Terminal City took longer than usual, thanks to the snow. Just another one of the pleasant aspects of Seattle- its predictably _crappy _weather. And aside from being annoyed by the snow, the fact that it was pounding down meant that yet again, Max was right.

_Just great, _he complained in his mind. _Something else for her to hold over my head!_

He wasn't looking forward to the conversation that was waiting for him. She'd probably assume that he told Logan the truth and get mad at him for not considering her wishes. _Kinda like how she considered mine! _he reminded himself, still irked at playing the unwilling stand-in boyfriend for her.

He couldn't wait to shove it back in her face, to see her reaction once she realized he hadn't told the man.

She always assumed the worst of Alec. It would offer him some amusement to be able to look her in the eye while showing her just how wrong she was for a change.

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Alec walked through the gates of the city, noting that the place seemed strangely empty. _Where is everybody?_

He saw his answer as soon as he stepped into the center. It seemed they had started the celebration. Everyone was crowded into the area, all looking deliriously happy, their faces lit with hope and the proud feeling of success.

He searched the room for Max, finally meeting her eyes that were staring at him from across the room. The brown orbs twinkled with a mixture of relief and happiness as she smiled at him.

The reaction surprised Alec for a brief moment, having his sights settle on a Max that was happy to see him. Normally, he wasn't greeted with such a pleasant gaze. No, there was usually a more physical greeting, involving a slap upside the head.

His pleasant surprise at her facial expression abruptly left as his ears picked up on the last thing she said. "And here he is!" she told the room, clearly referring to Alec.

Suddenly, the room erupted with clapping and expectant faces all looking at him.

_Oh, no_… he thought with irritation as his eyes again met Max's. They were staring back at him with determination and a bit of a challenge. It was like they were speaking to him, 'I dare you to screw this up'.

He smirked as he considered it. Her reaction would be priceless.

But something was nagging at his insides to at least not _completely _let down all the eager faces of the misguided transgenics, happily awaiting for his remarks about the celebration. He could spoon-feed them the same crap that he'd told the reporters, that this was the greatest thing ever and he looked forward to a day when ordinaries and transgenics could all just play some football together.

But the problem was he didn't believe in it. He just didn't care. _God, I just want this day to be over with! _he thought to himself, groaning inwardly.

Alec reluctantly walked to the center of the room and the clapping died down to give way for a speech. It wasn't that he was nervous- on the contrary, being the center of attention was more than comfortable for him. It was mostly that he lacked the motivation to do this right now. He mentally added 'inspirational speeches for something I couldn't care less about' to the list of things that were annoying him today.

Alec looked up from the podium at the center of the room. He was staring into a blinding light that was shining on him. He squinted once before moving his sights back to the room. "Hey, guys!" he started with a reluctant laugh as he scanned their faces one more time for a final chance to withdraw.

He nodded to them all, realizing that unfortunately, they were all still awaiting some words of wisdom and celebration from him. _Well, I better muster up something good_, he told himself. Otherwise Max would have his head. On a stick this time instead of just the receiving end of one of her signature slaps across his face.

"Well, this is the moment we've all been waiting for!" he started off with a feigned look of excitement. _I can't believe she's making me do this…_

"Freedom!" He spoke the word with dramatic emphasis, mocking its meaning to them all. "Look around you, folks. Taste it. Smell it. Inhale it… just try not to gag over the toxicity!" He finished by pointing at them all in jest.

He could almost feel Max's piercing eyes as she glared at him.

He brushed it off with a laugh. "Just kidding, kids. We all know we're immune to that stuff."

He saw Max's glare narrow at him before he went on. "No, seriously, guys. This is, this is something else, isn't it? We're standing here, in the middle of this toxic dump, that you all have worked hard to turn into something… special." The word tasted wrong on his tongue as he let it roll off unnaturally. "A home," he added, trying not to get caught up in the meaning of the word as it struck him.

"I feel so… privileged and proud to be standing here in the midst of all this greatness." He grinned widely at all of them, wanting to finish on a good note. "Thank you all for being so amazing. This day is truly inspiring. I'm so happy to be here!"

Clapping erupted throughout the room again, as well as a few cheers. He had to resist the urge to dramatically reach his hand to dab at a figurative tear from his eyes, a gesture meant to mock the 'intensity' of the moment.

Alec took one final glance at Max before stepping down from the podium. Her eyes rolled at him. She knew him better than to believe his words. But the warm, appreciative grin that followed her eyes' annoyance showed that she was glad he had come through, even if it wasn't sincere.

As Alec stared at Max, he was struck by her presence. She was glowing with genuine happiness. She looked happier than he'd ever seen her, standing in the middle of her celebration. She appeared happier than he ever thought possible, given her normally prudish and overly serious nature.

"So," he said to her once he was no longer in the spotlight. "Did ya miss me and my ass you're always talking about while I was gone?" He flashed her a cocky grin.

She shoved away his comments literally as she punched his shoulder lightly. "Please!" Her eyes again rolled. It was her typical reaction to his flirtations. "You're unbelievable, you know that?"

He shrugged with a cocky grin firmly in place. "That's what the ladies tell me after-"

"Ah!" she interrupted him, holding up a finger in protest. "I _really_ don't want to know."

He only grinned in amusement. "I could show you first-hand," he offered, wiggling a brow suggestively.

She snorted in reply. "Don't you wish."

She swallowed before looking at him more seriously. Her eyes that shined with absolute happiness only a moment ago now held anxiety. "So… how's Logan?"

He rolled his eyes. Here it was, yet again. Their annoying 'not-like that' relationship. He quickly told her what she wanted to know, hoping to end his boredom as soon as possible. "I didn't tell him," he informed her.

Relief swam over her face. She actually looked like she was going to thank him. Her lips parted to say something.

"Just, don't ask me anything else about it," he insisted. "I really don't want to relive that boring conversation."

Max cocked her head in disapproval at his rude words, a typical response. She looked like she was about to press the issue further, when instead she stopped herself, letting it go for some reason.

"Listen," she told him, changing the subject. "Joshua is cooking us all dinner, if you want to come."

He didn't take the effort to conceal his groan at her offer. _So first she forces me to come to this 'celebration', and give a speech, no less! Then she pesters me about the guy that she can't even touch but is still dedicated to for some twisted reason! Now she wants me to come to some lame 'dinner party'?_

"Gee, Max. As tantalizing as macaroni-and-cheese sounds tonight, I'm really not looking to stay here for the night," he replied.

She gave him a disappointed stare but was silent otherwise.

"But tell dog-boy I said hi!" he offered before turning around.

"Hey!" she called to him, placing a hand on the back of his shoulder as she tried to hold his attention.

His eyes rolled over the spot before turning to meet hers again. "What?" he asked in an empty, annoyed voice.

"His name is Joshua! And just where do you think you're going?" she asked him.

He shrugged. "Who cares? As long as it isn't here."

She frowned at him, her usual frustration with him showing. "We all worked on this together. Why can't you just show up for dinner?"

Alec rolled his eyes this time. "Whatever. All I want to do is take a nice hot shower. Maybe you didn't realize, but since my presence was demanded at _7:30 in the morning_, I didn't have time to before coming here. And seeing as the city is still putting off their promises and hasn't followed through with giving us running water yet, I think I'm gonna get out of here and find a place where the city actually provides it- a wealthy _ordinary_ house. 'Cuz as much as you want to play pretend here, Max, with your 'celebration', they don't care about us. We're so far down on their list of priorities, it's like we aren't even _on _it."

Max glared at him. Surely, she was about to go into some lecture with him, but thankfully, she was distracted by another transgenic.

"Max!" someone called to her, taking away her attention. She turned to look into the eager face of an X6. "It's snowing! We're gonna go sledding! Come on!"

Her eyes glanced into Alec's, giving him one more chance to change his mind.

"That's cute, Max. You go have fun, riding down a hill. Like I said, I'm gonna enjoy a nice, relaxing, hot shower. And we both know that isn't gonna happen here."

Her angry, hurt eyes shuttered once, opening again to reveal a Manticore mask, emotionless and distant. She turned away from him coldly before chasing after the X6. "Better save a ride for me!" she called to the transgenic.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Alec hated that nagging, vulnerable feeling of responsibility. What was the point of it, anyway? So people suddenly were counting on him- depending upon him. He never asked them to. It wasn't like their misplaced trust was going to somehow make everything better.

_Damnit, Max!_ he cursed her in his mind. She was driving him mad, with her constant prodding, criticism, and expectations. Why should she be so pissed anyway, when she'd made it clear time and again that she anticipated the worst of him always?

That cold, rejecting stare she'd given him just before he'd left… It was more than enough motivation to remind him why he needed to get away from it all.

"A hot shower is definitely what I need…" he said aloud. Or, at least, that's what he _tried _to say. As soon as he opened his mouth, he tasted a cold glob of snow as it pounded from the sky.

_What a day!_ he thought with annoyance, stepping on the gas to get going as soon as possible.

He considered scaling a nice place to make his for the night, until he realized that thanks to the heavy snowfall, the city was basically shut down. By now, everyone was nicely tucked away in their warm beds.

Which left him with only one possible destination. The shitty dive of a hotel he was staying at, that Max had personally chosen for him.

He groaned, remembering how uncomfortable the bed had been to sleep on the night before.

And it was taking him longer than it should to get back, which only added to his annoyance. Traffic was horrible, thanks to the sudden snowstorm.

_Well I guess it wasn't _sudden, he remembered, rolling his eyes as he recalled Max calling him an idiot for not automatically knowing the weather.

"_I guess she wanted someone who could understand her more. Someone who knows exactly where she's coming from." _He heard Logan's words, ringing in his head.

_Yeah, right!_ he argued the man in his mind, as if Logan could hear him now. _I'll never understand her twisted logic!_

Alec felt a relief come over him as he pulled into the hotel parking lot. _Finally!_

_---------------------------------_

Alec couldn't help breathing a sigh of satisfaction and calmness as he prepared himself for the comfort that hot water beating on his naked skin was sure to bring.

He smirked, an amused thought coming to him just as he was about to turn on the water. _Max and all of them are probably freezing their asses off right now!_ He made a mental note to rub it in her face the following day.

"Agh!" he couldn't help shrieking as the frigid stream poured down on him. He almost fell in surprise and quickly turned the faucet off. He started panting from the shock of the temperature. "What the hell!" he complained aloud. _You've got to be _kidding _me!_

He wandered into the hallway, wearing only a blue robe and slippers. "Hey!" he called to the elderly front clerk as he recognized her wandering through the halls. "What happened to the hot water?"

She chuckled warmly at him. "Oh, we wouldn't have any hot water _today!_"

He gave her a death-look that he was sure she was too senile to perceive. "Oh!" he said with mock understanding. "Of course not! Why would we have hot water _today! _When there's a _blizzard_, and _freezing_ outside!"

She continued to let out a light laugh. "You'll have to get some coffee tomorrow to warm up!" she added before disappearing further down the hallway.

Alec shook his head, feeling more irritated at this point than he thought possible. He slammed his door shut in frustration before staring at the lumpy, uncomfortable bed that he was about to resign to.

_Ugh…_ he groaned in his mind. _What a shitty day. _His eyes rolled over the clock, telling him it was 10 o'clock. Hardly his usual time for bed, but he was more than ready to call it a night after the day's 'festivities'.

_Thank God it's over! _was the last thought that filled his mind before his eyes fluttered shut into a voluntary sleep.

--------------------------------------------

"_You came along and tore this wall down around me, Looks like you found me... now I know why I felt like shit when I woke up this morning…"_

Alec rolled over to stop the song. He blinked his eyes a few times before looking at the clock. _6 A.M.?_ He blinked once more to make sure he wasn't having a bad dream.

_Damnit, _he swore in his mind as he realized. _I never turned the alarm setting off._ _Just great!_ Now he was awake for no reason. And so early!

He didn't even bother opening the curtains up. He knew that he was snowed-in. _Stuck in this God-awful hotel!_ he complained in his mind.

_At least the TV works_, he thought with some relief as he flipped it on.

He was about to try to somehow get comfortable on his bed when his jaw dropped as he glanced at the TV. "What the hell…?"

He was staring at an image of himself. His brow raised, for once out of curiosity as opposed to a suggestive comment of his. The action was usually voluntary, for effect. But he was truly confused as he stared at the news.

He un-muted it to make sure he wasn't just seeing this wrong. He heard his own voice speaking back to him, commenting on the new court order. _Except that it was new _yesterday, he thought to himself in confusion.

"_This is a great start to what we hope will be a long-lasting relationship. That is, one small step for transgenics, one giant leap for mankind_."

Alec stared at the proud grin on his face of using their own history to appeal to them. _That sounds a lot cheesier than I thought it did, _he critiqued himself momentarily before he came back to the current situation.

_Wait… why are they playing yesterday's news again?_

He scratched the back of his head, trying to figure out what was going on.

He quickly rushed to the window. If anything could help ease his mind, it would be to see with his own eyes all the snow from last night.

But as he withdrew the curtain, he only felt more baffled. _What is going on?_

He was staring at a clear street and a sunny sky. _Where did all the snow go?_ He knew that people had their little snow-trucks. But there was no way all that precipitation could just …_evaporate?_

He got dressed for the day, despite his uncertainty. He remembered the clerk's suggestion of getting some coffee in the morning. _I think I need a warm cup of wake-me-the-hell-up after all_, he thought to himself.

He opened his door in a flash, his eyes falling to the paper at his feet. He ripped it off the ground to read the news. _Something about bizarre weather patterns?_ he guessed, hopeful for some sign that he wasn't losing his mind.

"Man Rescues Dog…" he read in slight horror before his eyes rolled over the date.

It was yesterday. He was reading yesterday's paper.

Except that…

It wasn't _yesterday _anymore.

He descended the staircase in a blur. He had to get to Max, find out what was going on. His mind raced with the possibilities, explanations for his current state. _We're trapped in a rip in the time-space continuum, _he considered. _In his attempts to undermine all things transgenic, White's found a way to delay the celebration… forever._

Or maybe it was simpler than that.

_I'm having a hell of a hangover?_

Alec quickly let go of that idea. He had never been drunk in his life. Lord knows, he'd tried. One of the rough side effects of being a transgenic. His mind couldn't be altered that easily.

Which really sucked sometimes. People had it so easy if they wanted. Want to forget about something? Just drink yourself stupid and the problem disappears for the night. Alec wanted nothing more in this moment than to be able to brush his momentary insanity aside as some act from being in a drunken stupor.

"Bagel, Mr…?" the receptionist brought him out of his thoughts.

Alec stared at her with newfound focus that he was normally lacking at this hour. "What happened to all the snow?" he asked her. "And I told you, my name's Alec!" His voice held an urgency, much different than his normally nonchalant, cocky nature. But today, he didn't know what was going on. He needed some answers.

The elderly woman stared at him oddly before answering in a warm and friendly voice. "It hasn't started snowing yet!" she told him. "They say that's coming later today. Why don't you start your day off with a warm bagel… Mr. Alec, did you say it was?"

Alec tried to contain his frustration. The woman was senile, just as he'd suspected earlier. "Listen, I don't want some stale pastry! I just want to know what day it is. Can you tell me that much?"

His fears were realized in one sentence. "It's Saturday, Mr. Alec," she answered simply.

----------------------------------------------------

_I just need to retrace my steps,_ Alec decided, hoping that he'd come across some detail along the way to show him what exactly was happening.

As he rode to the convenience store, his thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. He didn't have to look at the caller ID to know who it was.

"Max…" he drawled into the receiver, still gathering his thoughts on the situation.

"_Don't sound so surprised to hear from me!" she snapped at him._

"I'm not," he quickly told her.

"_Are you on the road?" she asked suddenly, her tone revealing her shock._

"Why, yes, Max…" he began to respond without thinking before trailing. He finished as though he were reading a script, saying aloud what he remembered telling her yesterday. "Was it the engine that gave it away?" He spoke softly, as a worried thought filled his mind. The situation was different, worse than he'd thought. It hadn't affected anyone else, whatever was happening to him.

_Max snorted in amusement before continuing. "Wow! I should get your ass up early more often! You're really lacking the smart-ass effect. It's usually more natural. Is poor Alec tired?"_

He let out a light laugh at her remark. _So I'm naturally a smart-ass. _"I don't know if that's a compliment or an insult," he replied.

"_Whatever," she returned._

Immediately, the image of Max rolling her eyes flashed through his mind. He couldn't help smirking at her predictable antics.

"_So you're riding around Seattle…" she continued, getting back on track with her purpose in calling. "You must be insane."_

"And why would that be?" he asked, even though he knew what her answer would be.

"_Have you even watched the news?" she asked him._

He noticed that the insult at the end was missing. _I guess I'm being too nice to her this time, _he told himself.

"Yeah," he answered. "Some headline about a dog being rescued… and a day that never ends." He swallowed in hesitation. Maybe he shouldn't have just thrown that out there.

"_What?" she returned, clearly completely confused. "Look, quit with the games, I'm not in the mood today."_

"You make it sound like you _aren't _a stiff all the time," he commented with a smirk.

"_Shut up!" she snapped._

"Case in point," he couldn't help continuing.

"_Alec, if you were right here in front of my face-" she began._

"You'd slap me?" he interrupted, eager to annoy her by putting her own words into her mouth. _Maybe this weird day isn't so bad after all, _he considered.

"_You are such an idiot!" she returned. "First of all, don't even act like you know me_."

Alec only laughed in amusement, but he kept it to himself, curious to see what she'd say next. She had no idea how amusing she was, since he knew with a fair amount of certainty that threatening a slap was _exactly_ what she'd been planning on saying next.

"_And second of all, if you had half a brain, you would have checked out the weather prediction."_

"Sorry, I was preoccupied checking out the hot receptionist at the hotel you booked for me. You remember, the crappiest one in town?" he complained, making the comment only to fuel her anger. "But let me guess… We're getting snowed-in? Starting… this afternoon?" He phrased it as though he wasn't positive of the information.

He heard some muffled noise come from Max's end that sounded curiously like 'hmph' or some other annoyed response that he was right.

"_Just tell me you're headed for Terminal City," she replied._

"I'll be there after I make a quick stop," he told her.

"_Alec!" she hissed into the phone. "You need to get your ass here _now!_ We planned on the celebration. If the weather hits us like it's supposed to, we have to get this started right away. Everyone is counting on you!"_

"Their biggest mistake," he replied coldly into the phone. He meant it just as much today as he had yesterday. "Keep your shirt on, Maxie! I'll see you in a few. With a gift." With that, he hung up the phone. His lips curled upward into a solid smirk as he pictured the expression she most assuredly had on her face right then.

* * *

**a/n: **Thanks again to everyone that took the time to review from the last chapter. **Amiwilson**,** djonie**,** Deirax**, **alecsgirl452**,** christique**, **MeryKey-7**,** Swanseajill**, **src13**, **jennawolf30**,** purplebunnywabbit**,** ashlyns**, and of course **Deanaholic**! I really take them as a great compliment, especially when I've read for myself how talented you all are! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this one. See ya next chap! 


	3. Chapter 3: I Worry About You

**Chapter 3: I Worry About You**

Alec's head was spinning as he stepped out of the convenience store. How lucky for him that he had the pleasant sound of Normal's voice to pull him back to reality. That is, whatever reality today was going to offer him.

"Alec!" the man called excitedly to his idol.

Alec turned reluctantly, knowing the unpleasant sight that was about to attack his eyes. He pulled on a tight grin and nodded toward the beaming man.

"Alec! What are you doing here?!" Normal asked enthusiastically.

Alec threw back his head in annoyance. "Normal! Coincidently, we're standing right outside a store. And as you see, I'm holding a shopping bag in one hand." He held his bag up dramatically and waited for the man connect the dots.

Normal nodded before eyeing the bag nosily. "No…"

_Boxing gloves in there…_ Alec heard the words flash through his mind as Normal was saying them. He'd known that the man was going to say that. "…No," Alec answered quietly as his thoughts raced. _What is going on today?_

He blurred away from Normal, as if it separating himself from the man would somehow make the world make sense again.

But his attempt to escape was stopped abruptly as he stepped right into a sloppy puddle. _Shit, are you kidding me?!_ Alec now remembered the annoyance of making the exact same mistake before.

"Woo-Hoo-Hoo!" Normal called to Alec, amusement more than just hinting in his voice. "Gotta watch out for that one!"

Alec turned around and faced the man with anxiety shining in his hazel eyes. _Don't say it!_ he prayed in his mind, for more than one reason.

But the irritating, and most unfortunately, anticipated, reply came anyway. "It's a doozie!" the man said with a laugh.

_That's it! _Alec told himself. The puddle and Normal was the last straw. Something was _definitely _not right.

---------------------------------------------

Alec scanned the city as he walked into the place. He felt the knot in his stomach grow tighter as he noted every single trimming in the exact spots as he remembered. He felt the hairs on his skin raise at the familiar greeting that came next.

"Alec!" someone eagerly called to him.

Alec turned to catch the paintbrush that the kid had thrown at him.

The X6's face was priceless. He had clearly been anticipating Alec's face being struck with the object.

Alec couldn't help smirking despite his uncertainty about everything. "Maybe if you train harder, _you'll _have reflexes like that, too!" Alec told the kid with a grin.

The X6 nodded, looking somewhat in awe before a grin spread over his face. "Cool!" he replied, his way of complimenting Alec.

Alec looked around his shoulder to make sure no one, most especially Max, wasn't there. She wasn't 'scheduled' to arrive until a few more minutes, but he still checked. He was sure Max would laugh in his face if she heard what he was about to say. But a little X6? Alec figured he at least had a better chance of holding onto his pride with this kid than with Max. She'd probably think he was going crazy like his twin.

Alec wasn't sure which was the worse possibly. Being sent to Psyops for being crazy, or enduring Max's brutal insults and scrutiny for being crazy.

But there was that hope that was slowly fading into a hazy, distant memory. The one that told him he was most assuredly in his right mind and still reliving his yesterday.

"Listen…" Alec trailed as he realized he didn't know the youngster's name. "Who are you again?"

"They call me Deeter!" the kid said proudly.

_Deeter? _Alec wasn't sure that he wanted to know what silly reason Max had for dubbing the kid such a weird name. "Okay, Deeter," Alec began. "You ever heard of a thing called déjà vu?" He was speaking in a quiet voice, although he didn't really know why. It was more out of instinct than anything else. Transgenics had enhanced hearing, so if Max was nearby, she'd hear what he was saying, regardless of how quiet he was.

The confused look staring back in Alec's face told him that he really was in a fix. "Sorry," Deeter replied, looking like he felt guilty for being no help.

"It's okay," Alec told the kid with an encouraging pat on the back. _Great_. He really didn't want to seek Max's help on the matter. _Then again, she's always saving my ass_. At least, that's what Max was always bitching about doing.

"What's going on here?" Max asked the two transgenics as she cautiously stepped toward them. Her fiery brown eyes narrowed at Alec with her usual suspicion that he was up to no good.

_Well she didn't attack me today_, Alec thought hopefully. Maybe his situation wasn't as bad as he was letting himself think it was.

"Calm down, Max!" Alec told her, mocking her concern. "We're just playin' around!"

Max gave him an annoyed stare before rolling her eyes. "Of course you're just 'playin' around.' I mean, why would you be busy decorating the city like I asked you to?" she replied disapprovingly.

Alec couldn't help frowning at her. "Sorry, I was busy," he brushed her off somewhat cheekily.

Her brown eyes ignited with the anger she only seemed to hold for him. "Don't even begin to talk to me about _busy_!" she spat at him. "I've been running around here trying to get everything done, while you were _busy_ 'playin' around'!"

Alec rolled his eyes back at her. _Gah! _She was completely irritating. He thought he'd managed to escape her nagging in at him by not horsing around with the kid. It was never enough with Max! It seemed he was going to be her punching bag _again_ regardless of what he did or said to her.

"This is already starting out to be one of the worst days of my life!" she continued to vent at him, or rather, blame him. "But I'm not gonna let anything ruin the celebration!" she told him, determined.

"_You're _having a bad day?" Alec blurted to her. He usually didn't broaden her limited prospective to show her that, contrary to her belief, _other _people, _including _himself, had problems of their own.

He tried to remember a detail that he could use to prove to her that he was having a worse day. "I bought you a gift today," he told her.

Her eyes flashed with confusion at his seemingly random comment. "Is that supposed to make everything better?"

"You're not listening, Max!" he told her. "I bought you a gift today."

Max put one hand on her hip, insulted by his limited opinion of her listening skills. Not to mention, her patience was quickly wearing thin. "I heard you loud and clear, thanks very much! So you bought me something! What of it?" Her tone indicated for him to hurry up and get to the point.

"I already know how you're gonna react," he told her, waiting for the surprise to settle.

Instead, she threw him a glare. "If you're expecting a 'thank you', you can forget it!" she told him.

"…No," Alec continued. "Here," he handed the bag out toward her.

Max eyed it suspiciously before ripping it out of his hand. She stared into it disgustedly and then looked back up at Alec. "Is this-" she began.

But he interrupted her to prove his point. "It's not some kind of sick joke!" he said quickly. He paused for a moment. "Well, I guess it _is _actually, but that's not the point."

Max shoved the bag back at him with an angry face.

"That's what you were gonna say, right?" he asked her.

Max folded her arms. "What, so now you think you know me? _Anyone _in my situation would have told you the same thing." She shook her head at him.

"Okay," he tried again. "Now you're gonna think of Logan."

Max deepened her glare at him. "Do you think you're psychic or something? 'Cuz _psychotic_ is more like it! Wasn't that the whole point of your gift- rubbing it in my face? Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, Alec, but-"

"You don't need them," he finished for her.

"I wasn't going to say that," she lied, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of being right.

"You told Logan that we were seeing each other," he told her. They both knew he would never in a million years guess that she told the man such a thing. Especially with the intention of keeping up the charade, for that matter. Come to think of it, Alec couldn't help wondering why exactly she'd expected _anyone _to believe the pair of them to be more intimate than slaps upside the head and crude come-ons. It wasn't like they had any chemistry. The only sparks they shared erupted when she was pissed off at him. Not to mention, neither matched the other's type. _Clearly_, Max was interested in the whole tragic hero loner thing.

Alec could appreciate that she was hot, but once she opened that desirable mouth of hers, he easily turned his sights to the less vocal, willing blondes.

Max continued to glare at him, too stubborn to admit that he'd taken her by surprise. "Lucky guess," she tried to dismiss it as another coincidence.

Alec stared at her in shock. "Are you kidding me? Why would I guess that? The thought of me asking you out is _almost_ as laughable as you saying 'yes'!" he blurted at her.

Max swallowed, still trying to deny that there was anything odd about the situation. "Well, Logan just-"

"Assumed we were together. After he saw us the other morning," Alec finished.

Max frowned at him. "Will you quit doing that?!" she complained. "How did you know that?"

"What's your take on déjà vu?" he asked her.

She hated how confused he was making her. "Is this some trick of yours?" she asked him, frustrated that she couldn't figure out his angle.

"It's not a game!" he insisted to her. "I woke up this morning."

"Most people do, Alec!"

"Only it _wasn't _this morning!" he tried to explain. "You see, we did this celebration _yesterday. _And you told me all about Logan. And then I went and saw Logan, and you made me give a freakin speech, and-"

"Wait, what?" she held up her hand, indicating for him to pause. "You can't see Logan!" she insisted.

Alec felt like his eyeballs had popped out of his head. She couldn't be serious! He was telling her about the most bizarre day ever, and all she could think about was _Logan_?

And here, Alec had thought Logan was to blame for continuing with their twisted, barely there 'relationship'. She was just as wrapped up in it!

_Well…_, he reconsidered. _Maybe she's not _quite _as obsessed_.

_Damn! _What was it with Max? She had a way of sucking him into anything and _every_ thing that she cared about, when he himself normally wouldn't waste a second even considering such pointless things. _Like _Logan, _for example. And their 'not-like-that' umpteenth breakup!_

"Like I was saying," he continued, sliding right past her concerns for the older man, "I did this all yesterday. Then I woke up, and I… I'm reliving the same day, Max!"

He couldn't believe that he was still staring at a questioning face. "Max!" he repeated, encouraging _some _kind of a response.

She finally unfolded her arms. "Okay. I'll humor you. Let's just say, for argument's sake, that there is _some _truth to what you're saying."

He nodded, a rush of relief coming over to him. For some reason, confiding in Max made him much less anxious about the whole thing.

"Why?" she challenged him.

The warm feeling of relief quickly burned into severe annoyance as he heard the question. _God, I should have known she'd be useless! _"Max, do you really think if I knew _why _I woke up to the same day that I'd be standing here trying to get you to believe me?"

She frowned at him. "Well, fine! Maybe you are telling the truth. But what do you expect me to do about it? I've never heard of anything so ridiculous. It's not possible!" Her face finally showed some concern for him as her stare became softer. "Are you sure you weren't just drugged or something? Maybe we should have you checked out at the clinic…"

"No!" Alec insisted. "That is the _last _thing I need." He sighed in slight defeat. Even if Max did believe him, she was right. It was ridiculous. How could he possibly expect her to help?

"Well, what are you gonna do?" she asked him, placing a comforting hand on his back.

"I don't know," he admitted before returning her stare. "For now… go see Logan, I guess. That's what I did yesterday."

Max sighed in protest. "I really wish you wouldn't do that," she told him.

Alec tossed her a look. "What do you think's gonna happen? Seriously?"

"It's been a _day_, Alec! I want to give him some space!"

"Which is why _I'm _going," Alec decided. He flashed her a grin, despite his uncertainty about the day. "No worries, Maxie! I didn't tell him the truth yesterday. He wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise, so you've got nothin' to worry about."

He was somewhat surprised when she didn't fight his decision.

"Just…" she began. "Get back here as soon as you can, will you?"

"Sure," he offered.

As he turned to leave he couldn't help being pleasantly surprised with how civil their conversation had ended. And even though she hadn't said anything, her eyes were a giveaway. The brown pools had shone with worry, and not just for the possibility of Logan discovering the truth.

Somehow, her concern for Alec brought a calm feeling over him just as much as surprise. He didn't have any idea what was really going on with him, but it gave him comfort, knowing that she cared.

----------------------------------------------

"Logan," Alec greeted the man with a nod. He groaned inwardly, mindful of the way this was sure to turn out. In his confused state, he really didn't feel like being on the receiving end of one of those rare sentimental moments with Logan.

"What are you doing here, Alec?" Logan asked without looking him in the eye.

For a moment, Alec pictured himself telling the man the truth.

"_Oh, didn't you know? I guess they put some 'time-rip' in my cocktail, 'cuz I'm stuck in the same friggin day! And this is what I'm supposed to do next."_

He also pictured the man's reaction.

"_Really? I think I have a computer file on that. Let me get a few Eyes Only contacts to look into it."_

Then Alec reconsidered. _Nah, he's probably still too pissed about Max to help me out._

"_Really? Gee, I wish _I _could be stuck in a day where Max had just decided to dump her boyfriend for me!"_

Alec rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. "Uh… supplies," he mumbled to the man, still coming out of his thoughts.

"On the table," Logan barely replied, still not meeting Alec's stare.

He didn't want to, but the curiosity in Alec made him test the man and his day. "So, Logan, about Max and I-" he continued.

"She already told me," Logan interrupted him. "Just…" he trailed as he finally took a moment to meet Alec's gaze.

As he stared at Logan, Alec noted the concern that was more than just coming over the man. It was already there. Yesterday, Alec had noted it, but somehow it appeared stronger today. Logan really was worried about Max's happiness.

"Treat her right," Logan went on before turning his sights back to his firewood.

"You're worried about her," Alec blurted without thinking.

Logan turned around abruptly to face Alec again. "Well, yeah," he said in a tone that almost sounded condescending. "I care about her," he told Alec in a voice hinting with irritation, like it should go without saying.

Alec wasn't stupid or born yesterday (Thank goodness, because if he _was_, he'd be reliving _that _right now. Although he wasn't entirely sure whether being welcomed into the world of Manticore or listening to Logan's broken heart on repeat would be a worse reality to be trapped in).

He knew, of course, that when you cared about someone, it was only natural to worry about them. But the simple fact was, it wasn't a familiar feeling to him. He himself had never been sucked (or maybe '_suckered'_ was more appropriate) into caring about someone to the point of having the burden of worry.

Logan clearly didn't appreciate that this was the first time Alec had really taken the time to focus on that minor aspect of loving someone. And why should he? Alec didn't himself. It was just an observation he'd made the mistake of saying out loud.

"I never gave up on us," Logan continued after a brief pause. "We've been through a lot together."

Alec tried not to return Logan's condescending behavior. _I think _that _goes without saying_, Alec thought to himself. _Just like it did _yesterday.

Putting up with Max earlier hadn't been too much of a pain, even when she was more predictable than normal. But Alec didn't have the attention span to deal with figuring out what was going on _and _hold in the gag that would come with Logan's next words. He wondered if he could sidestep the ridiculous statement from coming out.

"So have we," Alec returned. The words came out with more of a possessive sound than he'd anticipated.

Logan didn't have the control to keep his eyes from narrowing at Alec in response. Clearly, he didn't feel that Alec had been through nearly as much as he had with Max.

The action struck a nerve within Alec, probably something to do with his ego, being silently questioned like that. The competitive spirit in Alec didn't appreciate Logan's take on Max.

Alec had never really taken a moment to really compare himself with Logan before. Probably because it was completely pointless; they were too different to even bother considering.

_I _have _been through a lot with Max_, Alec thought to himself defensively. Not that he _cared_. It wasn't like he was keeping some scoreboard to shove in the man's face.

"And I worry about her, too," Alec blurted out truthfully, to his surprise as well as Logan's. The comment was somewhat petty and not nearly as smooth as Alec normally was. But the conversation already felt petty to Alec. He didn't feel the comment was beneath him, given the audience.

Logan couldn't argue the reply. It was true, and both reluctantly accepted that.

Alec took advantage of the momentary pause in the man's endless droning. "I know where she's coming from," he lied. But the words rolled off his tongue easier than most lies did. Not that stretching the truth was ever difficult for Alec, but it was like there really was some truth to the statement.

He'd only said it to prevent Logan from saying it first. But it seemed it didn't prevent Logan from nodding and making the ridiculous statement _again_. "I guess she wanted someone who could understand her more."

As Alec took in the words, it dawned on him that Max had never given Logan a real reason, either The realization brought annoyance to him, since it meant he really did have something in common with Logan, though he'd never asked for it.

Alec certainly didn't understand Max any more today than he had yesterday. If anything, he understood her _less_.

Alec now knew that telling the man he was reading too much into it all would serve no purpose; the guy wouldn't listen to anyone, least of all Alec.

"Thanks for the supplies," Alec mumbled before abruptly ending the conversation with the action of taking the box and leaving.

* * *

**a/n**: thanks everyone for your thoughts from last chapter. this one took a little longer because I'm just so eager to get to the MA! had to take a step back to fit the story! anyway, I hope ya enjoyed this one. see ya next chap! 


	4. Chapter 4: Head Rush

**a/n**: Starts off a little more of the plotty. Sorry guys! You know the rules, but Alec doesn't... yet. But oh man, he's about to find out!

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Chapter 4: Head Rush

Alec walked into Terminal City feeling dizzy as his mind continued to try and work through the fog.

He wandered to the center in a daze, barely taking in the sights and sounds around him.

So far, although a few things had changed slightly, it seemed like there was nothing he could do to escape his fate. Those events he wanted to avoid most of all were inevitably coming true, despite his efforts.

If this whole thing really was a hangover, this would be the part where his head felt like it was ready to explode. Too bad he couldn't take a cold shower and drink lots of water to make it go away. His head held a ringing that wouldn't escape. Figuring things out was normally effortless for any transgenic. But he hadn't exactly taken Time Warp 101 or been trained in dealing with alternate realities.

The talk with Logan made Alec want more than anything for the whole day to just be an unnecessarily long, drawn out, bad dream. That if he hurried up and went to sleep, he would wake up just fine. Maybe talk to Biggs, get a good laugh at the ridiculous trauma he'd experienced in his sleep.

As his worries threatened to overtake him, his eyes found Max's in the crowd that he'd been absentmindedly wandering through. Staring into the anxious brown pools, he was momentarily taken away from his confusing circumstance.

Until she killed it by volunteering him for what would've been an impromptu speech (had he not done this yesterday!) to the anxious little genetically engineered killing machines. "And here he is!" he heard her words before the room erupted with clapping.

Alec nodded with a forced, tight grin. _Of course._ Leave it to Max to demand his attention and action when he was feeling quite possibly the lowest and most confused he'd ever been. It was a little difficult to muster the right ideas in his head for a motivational speech when in truth he felt ready to completely cave to his circumstance. But this was Max demanding his focus, and why should he expect her to actually consider how troubled he was? It wasn't like he'd told her about his situation and frustration…

Alec's icy sarcasm only continued as he blurred to the podium. The rushed action caused a quick, light breeze to hit Max, sending her long brown hair flowing and a shocked expression to light her features.

Normally, Alec would have found amusement in keeping Max on her toes. But he really just wanted the moment to end as soon as possible so he could wake up from his day from hell.

"Well!" Alec said, speaking in a voice that was about as dull as his hope for the day ever ending.

As he looked beyond the bright light shining into his face and stared into the crowd, he found himself in a position that was quite rare for him- he was truly speechless. Alec swallowed in an effort to get his focus back.

Without even looking, he could feel the challenging glare Max was giving him as a trickling feeling went down his spine.

"I'm not feeling so great today," he finally told them all. He looked down to the podium for a moment, and when he faced them again, he had his usual smirk in place. "But you all should be," he told them through his forced grin.

"You all worked hard to turn this city into something to celebrate." _Pft. As if they had a choice_, he thought silently to himself. With Max on the prowl, there was no way _anyone _could avoid the celebration.

"So, good job, kids! Woo-Hoo! If only we could make this moment last forever!" The words made him cringe on the inside in their irony, but he was careful to appear sincere as he said it.

Alec ended the short speech abruptly, by stepping down from the podium. He began walking toward Max to the sound of silence for a moment, until all of a sudden, clapping erupted throughout the room once more.

He shoved his hands in his pockets as he approached her, his walk more aggressive than usual. He wasn't in the mood for the disapproving stare she was sending him. Clearly, she hadn't been fooled by his words.

Well… scratch that. It was probably just that she was staring at _Alec._ It seemed he could never do any good with her, so it was probably just a coincidence that this time, he really was lying through his teeth.

"I almost believed you," she told him once he was within earshot.

"Now who's lying?" he came back at her.

Max moved to get away from all of the commotion, leading him outside, and he followed without hesitation. Once there was no one else around, Max answered him. "Okay. I'm caught. I knew it was bullshit, all of it."

After a pause, she continued, more warmly, "But they didn't. So thanks… for what it's worth."

"Nothing," Alec replied somewhat coldly. "'Cuz come tomorrow, you won't remember any of this."

Max cocked her head at this statement as though she didn't buy any of it. But something in the worried look in her eyes showed him that something he'd told her earlier about his situation had struck home.

"So… how's Logan?" she asked him suddenly.

_Ah… so the worry was for ol' Wheels, _Alec realized with an annoyed rolling of his eyes. "Like I told you, I didn't tell him anything," he informed her.

Max nodded, clearly finding relief in the information.

After a moment to process it, she opened her lips to say something more.

But Alec wouldn't hear any of it today. "I'm not interested in coming to Joshua's," he told her quickly.

Max was shocked for a moment before the surprise on her face was replaced with a frown. "I wasn't going to ask you that," she told him truthfully.

Alec rolled his eyes at her. "What then, more about Logan? I've said all I'm gonna say. If you're really curious, why don't you call the guy? He could use an explanation, you know. Somehow, he's deluded himself into thinking that I understand you." Alec laughed as he told her. "How's that for a joke!"

Before Alec interrupted Max with the comment about Joshua's, she'd been planning on asking him more about his situation. _But, fine! Looks like Pretty Boy is doing the usual and being a complete ass._ Max folded her arms at him and did _her _usual when dealing with Alec- argued her ass off.

"What's a _joke_," she spat at him, "is that I was even worried about you to begin with! That's something to laugh about."

Alec did laugh at the comment. "Funny, I never saw you treat Brother Zack this way when you were worried about him. Or Logan, for that matter."

Max rolled her eyes. "And to think, you thought I was actually gonna invite you over to Josh's tonight."

"You _were_," Alec insisted. "And like I said, I could care less. I'll take my chances with the Dump Motel over whatever scary intoxication dog-boy is cooking."

Max glared at him. "His name is Joshua! And frankly, _I _couldn't care less that you aren't coming. 'Cuz you're still the asshole that I always thought you were. So why don't you go home and sleep on _that_ tonight, Alec."

Her insults somehow held a special sting today. Normally, Alec just brushed them off with a smirk, but there seemed to be a hurt hiding in them that bothered him.

He pulled a smirk on his face anyway, determined to brush her off even though her words would stay with him for longer than he wanted to admit. "It doesn't matter what you say to me, Maxie. 'Cuz come tomorrow, you won't remember any of this."

At this, Max surprised him by blurring her fist to come into contact with his face, crushing his lip into his teeth underneath the forceful blow.

Alec stumbled backward for a moment before regaining his balance after the shock. "What the fuck, Max!" he spouted at her. As he glared at her, he could taste the blood dripping in his mouth.

The glare coming from Max didn't flinch, and her face shown no regret for her actions in the least bit. "Don't call me 'Maxie'," she told him, giving him a second to consider that before continuing. "We'll call this a test."

"What?" he asked her, completely confused.

"I gave you a hell of a punch there," she explained.

"Yeah, I noticed!"

"Even a transgenic will still have a nice bruise tomorrow."

"Try for a week!" he complained dramatically.

"So if you wake up and your lip is fine, then you know you're doomed."

"Wow, Max," Alec told her icily, "So, I either wake up with a fat lip or the nightmare continues. You're so helpful."

"Someone once told me we weren't designed to be chumps," she defended her actions by using his own words against him. "That's all I got for you today. But here's a suggestion for you- If you wake up tomorrow and you're still stuck, why don't ya try being a little nicer to me? Maybe I'll give you more help than a fat lip."

"So if I'm lucky you might break my legs, too?" he mocked her. "Oh, and for the record, if you _do _try that tomorrow, I'm gonna kick your ass without hesitation."

"You couldn't even if you tried," she challenged him with a glare.

Before Alec could make a reply, an X6 came running toward the pair, followed by a group of his friends. "Max! Alec! It's snowing! We're gonna…" he trailed as he caught the sight of Alec's split lip. "Hey, what happened?" he asked with a mix of curiosity and worry.

The caught look on Max's face was priceless. Alec purposely waited an extra second to give an explanation.

"Oh, we were having a sparring session," he told the kid finally with a grin. "Got a little carried away." He smacked his 'girlfriend' on the ass before continuing, "_Maxie _here (he said the name with intentional emphasis) doesn't have as good a handle on her control as I do."

Max removed his hand by latching her arm onto his to throw him to the ground on his back. "And that…" she told the X6, as though she was just making a demonstration, "is a move we're going to practice a few more times before we show it to you guys in class."

"You look pretty busted up!" one of the other X6's said to Alec finally with a light laugh.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alec noted the beaming grin that the comment elicited from Max. It gave him an idea for another small moment of payback.

"Oh, yeah. It hurts real bad," Alec made a point to look in true pain. "I wish there was something to help…"

Max snorted. "Walk it off, soldier," she dismissed his whiny comment.

"You wanna know what I heard helps?" Alec continued.

"No!" Max snapped… at the exact time that the group of kids answered in unison, "Yeah!"

"Ever heard of kissing your booboo?" Alec went on.

Max continued to laugh at how ridiculous he sounded, not catching where he was going with the silly comment. "Aww…. poor Alec! Maybe I can find you some cute little band-aids in the infirmary. The ones with little teddy bears on them."

"Actually…" Alec continued, standing up and grabbing onto her waist with his arms to pull her closer toward him. "I think a kiss from my girl would do the trick just fine."

"Yeah!" one of the X6's. "Kiss the booboo! Make it all better! I saw it on a TV show!"

"When were you watching TV?" Alec couldn't help asking.

"Max let us use your TV," the kid answered.

"Oh did she?" Alec asked.

Max struggled to get out of Alec's grip. "Alec, come on!" When he didn't loosen his grip at all, she considered forcing her way out, until she remembered that she had more than just a pair of eyes watching her- eyes that didn't know that she wasn't _really _Alec's girlfriend. _Damnit!_ she thought with annoyance. She found the secret to remaining calm as she glanced again at Alec's damaged lip. _He had it coming._

"Man, this really hurts," Alec continued.

"Go on, Max," one of the kids, a girl, encouraged.

"There is _no _medical purpose or reason to do this! It won't help at all! If anything, it will make him feel worse! Show's over, kids, come on," Max tried to dismiss them.

Max groaned inwardly as she stared again at his lips. It would be even more unpleasant than normal, which had to be pretty bad to begin with. The thought of kissing Alec was not one she wanted to dwell on. _Fine! _she thought to herself. _But I'm gonna make Pretty Boy wish he had never asked._

Max made sure that although the kids were in clear view of the pair, her lips were perfectly hidden from them, given the angle they were standing at. Once Max was sure of this, she planted her lips against Alec's firmly, smashing hers forcefully against his. She barely had to ask with the tracing of her tongue to get him to open his mouth to deepen their kiss.

Once she'd given him a bit of pleasure by sucking gently, she made her move.

Alec felt pain race through him as Max's teeth pressed down against his lip, which was already starting to swell. She was biting- and hard. She wanted this to hurt, and was getting her wish.

The action sent a twisted mix of pain and pleasure through him. He hadn't expected Max to really kiss him. He'd just wanted to piss her off a bit more. She had completely taken him with the taste of her lips.

Once she finished the painful action, she slid her tongue quickly over the sensitive spot, only to withdraw from the intense kiss.

She faced him with a devious glint apparent in her brown eyes, smiling as she asked him something in a low, saccharin voice that seemed to purr at him. "Does your booboo feel better, Alec?"

Alec was breathless and speechless for a moment, surprised at just how turned on he was by the unexpected action. His eyes watered and burned from the intense pain.

"Good! Now you're better and we can go sledding!" one of the kids answered.

Alec finally moved his eyes from Max, glancing around him as though coming back to reality. "I'm not sledding," he said finally.

Max flashed a stare of disappointment for a moment before she quickly recovered with a nonchalant shrug. "Suit yourself."

With that, she walked over to the group of X6's. As they walked in the direction of a big hill, she turned over her shoulder to face Alec one last time before fading out of eyesight. 'Call me tomorrow,' he watched her mouth the words, before the delayed and barely audible sound of her voice struck his sensitive hearing.

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Alec didn't know how she'd done it. He wasn't sure he wanted to. But in between the glares and insults Max had sent his way, just like always, she'd managed to give him more confusion than he was already feeling.

As Alec drove back to the hotel, he found himself being struck with another feeling besides the snow pounding at his face.

She was just completely… undeniable.

He actually felt guilty- _again_- for skipping out on Joshua's.

He cursed inwardly, yet again, at his circumstance. _This whole day has me all spun around_, he decided. He could think of no other reason to explain the quiet desire burning from the taste of her lips that lingered on his.

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Alec stared at the familiar door to his hotel room with and let out a sigh of relief.

His mind was completely exhausted after the day he'd had, and he wanted nothing more than to go to bed so he could wake up from this horrible dream.

_But first, I think my body needs a break_, he thought to himself. _And not the kind that Max is always trying to give me._ He let his tongue roll over the pained spot on his lip once at the thought. _Damn, this is gonna hurt even worse tomorrow._

Max had really outdone herself this time. All the times she'd inflicted pain on him… but this one had left him with something worse than a bruise or a fat lip.

She'd left him with a memory that he knew wasn't going to shake easily. She'd tickled his desires and he knew he wasn't going to be satisfied until he got to taste her again.

_A nice, hot shower it is! _Alec thought to himself, forcing his thoughts away from Max and whatever satisfaction she gave him. It was like an oxymoron, anyway, putting 'Max' and 'satisfaction' in the same sentence.

_Get it together, soldier! _Alec told himself as he turned on the water.

"Agh!" Alec couldn't help shrieking as the frigid water beat down on him. He quickly turned the faucet off. "Max!" he let out her name in an irritated growl. If she hadn't twisted him and his mind around so much, he would've had enough focus to remember the temperature problem before having to suffer through the shock of the bitter cold for a _2nd time…in a row!_

"Hey!" Alec called out in the hallway after he'd slipped on a blue robe. "You still don't have any hot water?"

The woman gave him that same chuckle that was so carefree, he couldn't help but again wonder if she was totally senile. "Oh!" she said with a light laugh, "we wouldn't have any hot water _today!_"

Alec returned her light laughing, though his was more due to partial insanity. "Of course not!" he agreed. "Why would we have hot water _today! _What with the blizzard outside? How _silly _of me!" As he continued to laugh, he found himself wanting to cry. _Somebody shoot me_, he couldn't help thinking miserably.

"You'll have to get some coffee tomorrow to warm up!" she added before disappearing further down the hall.

Alec rolled his eyes before slamming his door shut. _What a shitty day_, he groaned in his mind.

He punched the lumpy bed a few times- as if that would make it any less uncomfortable.

Despite his annoyance and pessimistic mood, he let out a silent prayer that it would all be over tomorrow when he woke up.

He felt a few more waves of pain coming from his lip that was overly sensitive, courtesy of Max, before all other feeling left him as he fell into a deep sleep.

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"_You came along and tore this wall down around me. Looks like you found me… now I know why I felt like shit when I woke up this morning…"_

Alec stopped the now familiar wake up call by ripping the radio plug out of its outlet and throwing the incessant noisemaker into the wall at the other end. The action caused the little electronic device to smash into about a dozen pieces.

Alec pulled his hands over his face in small protest of the day ahead of him.

He'd heard the same song. That same, annoying tune had woken him up again at the butt crack of dawn.

Which could only mean one thing.

Just to be sure, Alec ripped open the curtain covering his window for clarity.

Sure enough, he was staring at a crystal clear street down below, completely absent of all the snow that had pounded at his face for his entire ride home the night before.

_Damnit_, he swore in his mind as he realized. _I'm still stuck in this same God-awful day!_

Alec turned the TV on, though he wasn't sure why. He knew what he was going to see. A cheesy interview of himself commenting on the 'situation' with the transgenics- the temporary truce to their battle with the Ordinaries that they never even asked to be a part of in the first place.

"_This is a great start to what we hope will be a long-lasting relationship…"_ he watched himself say on the screen in front of him.

"Oh, shut up!" he complained to himself. "Do you know what an idiot you are? It doesn't matter, anyway! There's never gonna be a 'long-lasting relationship'! The only thing that's 'long-lasting' is _this _shitty day!"

Alec turned it off immediately, unable to take it anymore. Repeats were boring anyway, but most especially when it was yourself on bullshit mode that was on repeat.

Alec got dressed for the day, although he wasn't sure why. He had nothing to look forward to, that was for sure. He already knew the entire routine of the day.

He was going to go downstairs, be offered a 'bagel', as the dive was calling their horrible stale breakfast option, get a phone call from Max…

_Max, _Alec thought suddenly. He immediately pulled a finger up to his lip that was swelling when he'd gone to sleep the night before.

He blurred to a mirror to see.

But as he stared at his own reflection, he was hit with surprise. There was nothing there. There was no swelling, no cut, no scar… no pain. It was like…

It never happened.

_It never happened_, he repeated in his mind. _Max never punched me… she never kissed me_.

At the memory of her full lips against his, Alec found he could almost still taste her.

But…

_It never happened._

Alec opened his door and stepped right onto the paper that he already knew the headline of, hearing the satisfying crumple of cheap paper and not even giving it a thought as he made his way down the hall. As he descended the staircase, he found himself in a dulled state. He probably appeared to others as depressed or under the influence of a mind-altering substance.

_If only…_ he thought to himself with a groan. If that were true, that would mean there was an end to this merry-go-round of misery.

"Bagel, Mr…?" the receptionist trailed as she addressed him.

"It's _Alec_" he snapped at her. "My name is 'Alec'!"

"Okay, Mr. Alec," the woman replied with a light grin. "Would you like a bagel?"

Alec waved his hands at her. "No! I don't want a _bagel_. I…" he trailed as a question burned in his mind. He already knew the answer but he had to try.

"What day is it?" he blurted suddenly.

"It's Saturday, Mr. Alec!" she answered with a polite smile.

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**a/n**: thanks everyone for reading! you know I love hearing your thoughts!

Ha... poor Alec has no idea what I have in store for him next! heeehee


	5. Chapter 5: Uncharted Waters

**Chapter 5: Uncharted Waters**

Alec whipped out his cell phone before it even rang. He didn't need to have transgenic memory to know it was coming. At this point, even Sketchy would be able to anticipate what was going to happen next, if he was in the same twisted predicament.

"Max," he let out the name with a slight disdain in his drawl. She was already driving him crazy without saying anything. Alec still wasn't over her aggressive kiss that had been painful in more ways than one. And it only added insult to injury knowing that she undoubtedly held no memory of the moment.

"_Alec, where are you?" Max asked, ignoring the horrible mood that Alec made no effort to hide._

Alec answered her by revving his engine. He knew she'd pick up on the sound.

"_Are you on the road?" Max asked, clearly shocked._

Alec beeped the horn on his bike to send the point home, but again said nothing.

"_Are you insane?!" Max asked him, clearly coming to the right conclusion._

Alec was finally bored of letting the sounds around him do the talking, and considered making the dangerous move of speaking to Max. In his current state, he knew beforehand that his bite was going to be harder than normal this time. Part of it was his own bitter payback for the way he'd fallen to sleep the night before, fat lip and all. And part of it was for how he'd awoken that morning, her memory lingering on his lips and burning in his mind.

He went ahead and spoke anyway, with the excuse that it didn't really matter what he said, since she would wake up tomorrow without a memory of their conversation ever happening. "Yes, Max," Alec answered dryly, "I've gone completely off my rocker and am now making the drastic move of riding my own motorcycle."

"_You are such an idiot!" Max complained._

_Guess she doesn't find my insanity sincere enough, _Alec realized. _Maybe I should be more convincing._

But he decided to save that for later, and instead continued to be uncooperative, knowing full well it would send her into a deeper fury. "You shouldn't say those things to a crazy person, Max. You never know what I might do," he continued.

"_Shut up!" Max snapped lamely._

"Tsk, tsk," Alec clicked into the phone, feigning disappointment. "Why must you always ignore reason, Max?"

"_Oh, _I'm _the one ignoring reason?" Max replied angrily. "Have you even watched the news?"_

Alec rolled his eyes. "As a matter of fact, I watched it three times. Should I repeat it back to you? 'Man Rescues Dog'; there's a 'lovely truce', as the newscaster stated, going on between the transgenics and the rest of the world; it's going to blizzard later; oh, and before I forget, you're still an overreacting, demanding bitch."

"_And _you're_ still an annoying, egotistical ASSHOLE!" Max yelled into the phone._

Her booming voice was especially painful, given Alec's sensitive hearing. "You know, the _ear_piece," Alec informed her, "is, coincidentally, _right by _my ear! You don't need to yell!"

"_I have to make sure my words make it past your grossly _thick_ head," Max excused her fury._

"Let me guess," Alec continued with a sneering smirk that he wished she were present to see with her own eyes. "You want to slap me right about now."

"_Try smashing in that Pretty Boy face of yours with my fist!" Max answered._

Alec nodded. _Should have guessed, _he thought to himself. Considering it was something she'd already proven she was more than capable of doing to him.

Alec knew he was letting his frustrations out on her. Technically, the Max of today had never punched him. He considered lightening up on her. "Sorry," he finally offered lamely, "I woke up on the wrong side of the time continuum."

"_What?" Max asked in confusion before continuing. "Look, I don't really care if some blonde bimbo rejected you last night and you woke up alone, or if you woke up with your entire head shoved halfway up your ass. It's not my problem if Poor Alec didn't wake up feeling like the confident dick he normally is."_

Alec growled silently, and tried to get his good mood back. He didn't usually let things get to him like this. Of course, he wasn't usually forbidden to move beyond what was quite possibly the worst day of his life.

Getting back on track with his usual form would mean doing what he normally would do, ignoring the horrible circumstance he was stuck in.

And he would normally be headed to the store to claim a quality pair of rubber gloves to give Max in jest.

"Let me make it up to you," Alec offered. "I'm going to the store right now to get you a gift."

"_Alec! You are such an idiot! First of all, what makes you think I even _want _a gift from you? And second of all, we're not just getting a blizzard. We're getting snowed-in. It's gonna hit us this afternoon. I need you here at Terminal City!"_

"Just… throw a few more streamers up," Alec suggested sarcastically. "By the time you're done, I'll be there. With a gift, like I said."

"_Alec!" Max hissed into the phone. "You need to get your ass here, _now. _Forget about the stupid gift, whatever it is! We planned-"_

Alec decided to cut her off early from giving him the lecture that he'd already suffered through twice before. "See you in a few, Maxie!" he called over her voice before hanging up.

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Alec exited the store still feeling less than thrilled with the world in general, given his never-ending day. He wasn't sure what Max would say this time when she received her gift, but he wasn't that concerned. For some reason, the item he'd chosen just felt right. It wasn't what he'd been planning to buy, but he hadn't felt like he could leave without making the purchase.

"Alec!" Normal shouted to him, right on schedule.

Alec had to resist the urge to cry before grudgingly turning around. Alec held his arms open widely, as though finding pure delight in the sight before him. "Normal!" he said with a full-toothed grin. "What are _you_ doing here?!" Alec asked in an almost exasperated and overly excited voice.

Normal was clearly taken slightly aback by Alec's excited greeting, but still looked just as happy as ever to come across his Golden Boy after hours. "I guess I'm running into you!" Normal answered in a slightly confused voice. But his mouth still curved upward into a smile as he answered Alec's question. "What are you doing here?" he finished, much to Alec's disappointment.

Alec thought he'd steered clear of the man's usual script by saying it for him. But the slight drawback didn't keep Alec from continuing along the same lines. "I sure am _not _buying boxing gloves!" Alec answered, his voice still so full of excitement that it sounded to Normal like it was hard for Alec to keep it all in.

"Uh… okay," Normal answered, visibly getting uncomfortable with Alec's continued bizarre behavior. "That's too bad," Normal commented, clearly disappointed that the great Monty Cora wasn't taking to the ring again.

Alec looked in complete agreement as he continued. "I know," he said with a dramatic sigh. "It feels so… good…," he let out as though it were a confession. "…Beating people up is one of the best things about my life. It's a great way to let out all that… anger I have built inside of me." With that, he flashed Normal a menacing smile, his hazel eyes shining with a dangerous golden glint as he aggressively held Normal's stare.

"Uh…," Normal trailed nervously with a loud gulp. "Yes, you really need to let that out of you… Soon… Before I see you next at work."

Alec took a few deep, heavy breaths as Normal slowly backed away. "You know, you're right, Normal. Who do you recommend I knock the lights out of?"

"Ah… it's been great, Alec!" Normal said suddenly, continuing to back up. "But I'm going to head home. Good luck! With those anger issues." With that, Normal stepped off the sidewalk… right into the slushy puddle.

Alec cupped his hands over his mouth like a megaphone. "Woo Hoo HOO!" he called to Normal as the man eyed the puddle with annoyance. "Gotta watch out for that one!" Alec continued. "It's a _doozie_!" He finished with laughter that was almost maniacal.

---------------------------------

Alec walked confidently into the city, despite his helpless situation. Weirding Normal out with the man's own strange methods had left Alec feeling satisfied and amused once more. It was a refreshing way to turn his day around.

"Alec!" someone – Deeter – greeted him. Alec turned with a smirk as he caught the paintbrush mid-air.

Deeter's face was priceless- like a deer caught in headlights.

Alec cocked his head confidently before bragging. "I'll teach you how to move like that," Alec insisted. "When you can handle it."

Deeter beamed up at Alec, looking in awe of the X5. "Cool!" he replied, his way of complimenting Alec.

"But first…," Alec trailed. "I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson for trying to one-up your SIC."

Deeter's eyes flashed with a look of worry before Alec tackled the kid, though holding back his full strength. Soon the look of worry on Deeter's face was replaced with one of playful challenging as the two transgenics began to wrestle.

Max came in to interrupt the fun at the perfect moment- just in time to see Alec on top of the Deeter, which she immediately assumed to be nothing short of a true attack.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled at Alec as she quickly jumped at the two of them, pushing Alec off the poor kid.

As she pushed Alec away, Deeter easily made his escape, and Alec instead grabbed onto Max, sliding his arms along her waist until he successfully flipped her underneath him and held her firmly, pinning her to the ground.

Max glared up into his eyes that were dancing with mischief just above her own. "Let go of me!" she demanded, struggling to get free.

Alec only responded by closing the grip he had on her. "Now is that any way to talk to your boyfriend?" Alec asked her with a cocky grin.

Max's eyes flashed with surprise for a split second, until she recovered by kneeing him hard in the gut. "Get off of me! I'm not gonna ask you again!"

Alec released his grip at her protest and Max quickly stood up, making a dramatic gesture of brushing the dirt off her shoulders before narrowing her eyes at him.

She quickly turned to the X6, who was now awkwardly glancing between the two of them, holding back giggles at their ridiculous sight. "Are you okay?" she asked the X6.

"Deeter's fine," Alec answered, "We were just playing around."

Max stared at Alec like she didn't believe him, until Deeter piped up. "Alec, you have to show me how to move like that!"

"You got it!" Alec promised with a grin. The kid had no idea, but he was really growing on Alec the more Alec had to see him.

Before Max could question what his comment meant exactly, Deeter wandered away to go play with some of the other X6s.

Max turned back to Alec and quickly slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!" Alec complained, rubbing the sore spot dramatically. "Geez! What is it with you and inflicting pain on me?"

"_That _was playing for you?" Max asked, ignoring his pained protests. "Guess I don't play well with others," she excused her actions, brushing off any concern for his injuries.

Alec rolled his eyes. Max really had no idea how lame her lines sounded the 2nd time around. _And she thinks the things _I_ say are cheesy!_ Alec thought to himself, amused.

"How did you know his name?" Max asked suddenly, giving Alec a suspicious look.

Alec returned her stare with wide-eyes. She clearly found something wrong with something as minor as Alec knowing Deeter's name. "What? Now I'm not even allowed to know a kid's name without hearing it from you? Why is everything such a big deal to you?"

Max narrowed the glare that she was giving him. "Since when have you been on a first-name basis with anyone here? You can't even remember the names of the women you plant your sleazy sights on."

Alec feigned a look of true pain. "Max, that really hurts my feelings," he commented. "And since when are you so interested in my one night escapades?"

Max almost snorted. "Is that what you're calling your endless encounters?"

"You sound kinda jealous, Max," Alec pointed out. "Not that it matters now. You've successfully put an end to those days. You realize that, don't you?"

Max tensed for a moment at his comment while she tried to figure out what he meant.

Alec couldn't believe her eyes were still shining with suspicion. "So you told people you were dating a guy that you don't even trust?" he asked her, hiding his concern for her ill-feelings toward him in an insult to her decision that was clearly not well-thought out.

Max studied him for a moment before accepting that he must have found out somehow. She immediately let go of the mask that she'd been holding over her emotions and opened them all up to him- starting with confusion.

"How do you know that?" Max asked him seriously.

"Know what?" Alec asked innocently, just to toy with her some more.

"Don't play dumb with me," Max demanded.

"But I thought I was just an idiot," Alec reminded her of her earlier words.

Max frowned. Though normally she let him goad her into fighting, she needed some answers. This wasn't something she would allow herself to be sidetracked from. She needed to know. "Alec, how do you know? Don't play games with me."

"Well, here," Alec said suddenly, withdrawing a bag from under his coat. "It's your present. I thought it was fitting. For my girlfriend, I mean."

Max opened the bag up with caution before her face became soft with warm surprise. "You bought me lilies?" she asked. "Where'd you find these in the middle of winter?"

Alec grinned. "You know, it's amazing what someone will give you with the right kind of cash." He kept the part of how he'd illegally attained the money to himself. He didn't want to piss her off any more right now.

"Why'd you get me these?" Max asked him.

"You're my girlfriend, right?" Alec reminded her. "I wanted to get you something you'd like."

Max looked sad for some reason at his surprising, sweet gesture. "My favorites are sunflowers," she confessed to him. "You know. They're kind of like… God's mistake. If there is a God. They're backwards, black on the inside, the beautiful yellow glow stretching out. A beautiful mistake… Like us."

Alec was taken aback by Max's sudden openness. He also had never taken her for one of much philosophy. She'd always come across as a hit first, ask questions later kind of girl. He wondered if Joshua's artistic nature was rubbing off on her. "I don't think of us as mistakes," Alec remarked, not really sure what else to say.

"Do you know why I told Logan?" Max asked him suddenly, fighting the urge to cry.

"To keep him safe," Alec answered honestly.

To Alec's surprise, Max nodded, a relief coming over her. "So you understand," she said simply.

Max's words rang in Alec's head more than she knew. _Logan thinks I understand her_, Alec remembered, _and now even Max thinks I do!_ But he still felt no closer to understanding the woman than he had the day they'd met. But he was finding he suddenly had an increasing desire to.

"I'm reliving the same day, Max," Alec told her abruptly.

The comment at least took her out of her brooding mood. "What?" she asked in total confusion.

"That's how I knew about what you told Logan," Alec admitted. "That's how I knew Deeter's name. By the way, I was meaning to ask you, what horrible thing did he do to get that name?"

Max frowned at him. "He picked that out himself. It was the first choice he ever got to make for himself. You know, without Manticore. And I see nothing wrong with it."

"How come you never let me choose my name?" Alec couldn't help asking.

"I told you, your name suits you," Max answered. "Besides, if I hadn't, you'd probably still be going around as 494. Did you really want to be a number all your life?"

"I had a good reputation, you know," Alec informed her. "As 494, I mean. I didn't see a problem with it. But… I don't know. I never thought about it, I guess," he admitted.

Max rolled her eyes. "Once again, you fail to consider _anything_. Just do me a favor. No more running off today to buy any strange gifts. We need to celebrate, now more than ever."

Alec found himself almost wincing as he remembered that he was due for a meeting with a certain scruffy 'not-like-that' former boyfriend of Max's. "I have to go see Logan," he said abruptly.

"What?" Max asked. "Now? Come on, you can't."

"It's next on the list," Alec dismissed her protests.

"What list?"

"I told you, I'm having déjà vu."

"You were serious?" Max asked in disbelief.

"Would I make that up?"

"How am I supposed to know? I try not to think about what goes on in that twisted head of yours."

"I won't be long. And don't worry, I'm not gonna tell our buddy Log' the truth. I couldn't if I tried. The guy really likes the sound of his own voice, doesn't he?"

Max frowned but didn't argue. She was too confused to get distracted with another fight. "Wait a minute," she replied, "I don't get it. You're reliving the same day. So, what… we've had this conversation before?"

"Yes and no," Alec answered.

Max glared at him. "If you're trying to get me to understand, you're not doing a good job at it!"

"I don't know all the rules!" Alec told her. "Yesterday, well, to me, anyway, you didn't have any ideas. You told me to be nicer or something, and then punched me in the face, and then kissed me, and then I went to bed and woke up without a fat lip-"

"Woah, woah!" Max interrupted, holding up a hand for him to stop. "Hold on a second. I punched you?"

"Yeah," Alec replied, feeling a sudden pain in his lip for a brief second as he relived the moment in his mind.

"And then I _kissed _you?"

"…yeah," Alec answered, hoping that the sudden burning he was feeling rise within him wasn't visible on his cheeks.

"Yeah right!" Max argued, refusing to believe him. "There is no way!"

"Well… you were just trying to give me more pain, I think," Alec admitted.

"I would never kiss you," Max continued, getting angry with his lies as she shook her head in disbelief. "Not even in your dreams!"

"You _did_," Alec insisted, his frustration growing as he found she flat out refused to even consider it.

"You're full of shit," Max dismissed his story, "Just like always. If you want to fool me, you better pick something more realistic. You know, something that doesn't require hell to freeze over before it can happen."

Alec silenced her arguing by swiftly placing his lips firmly against hers, molding his mouth against the fullness of her lips that were now familiar to him. He explored the ridges with his tongue, before she gasped into his mouth, giving him the opportunity to taste her more completely this time, especially without a swelling pain to distract him from the desirable taste of Max.

Max had been so taken by surprise at his action that she opened her lips instinctively to gasp, only to find her breath quickly replaced by his tongue as he kissed her passionately.

Her senses took over, and she found herself kissing him back as her body raced with the feel of his mouth against hers.

Alec slid one arm around her waist, pulling her closer, as his other hand was wrapped snugly against the smoothness of her flowing hair.

Alec could feel her temperature increase against him; the racing of her heart as each beat came faster; the pheromones of pleasure attack him as her arousal increased underneath his touch.

The intense moment ended just as abruptly as it began as he felt Max's lips suddenly pull away from his.

She stared at him for a moment completely speechless, a worry evident in her eyes.

It was all Alec needed to see. Now he knew the answer. Although she hadn't shown it the day before, she'd enjoyed sharing a kiss with Alec just as much as he had with her. A part of her wanted him, even if she wouldn't admit it. Her body had answered him, even if she wouldn't.

"Did hell just freeze over?" Alec broke the silence with a cocky smirk.

He was answered with a punch, this time to the side of his face instead of his lip where it would hurt more.

"What the hell was that for?" he asked her.

"Just finishing the rest of your twisted story," she said coldly, a Manticore mask shielding her true emotions from him after he'd made her feel so vulnerable.

Alec nodded. "It's true, Max," he told her. "For what it's worth."

Max only glared at him. She couldn't believe he expected her to care after how he'd been treating her since the first time she'd spoken to him on the phone. Aside from the flowers, he was being even worse than usual, which was already difficult to put up with.

"You know, that's the worst part, though," he admitted to her seriously.

"What? That I give you a fresh shiner every day?" Max snapped at him.

"That you don't remember," Alec told her. "Nothing I do today is gonna matter. Because when I wake up tomorrow, you won't remember any of this."

Max was truly concerned as she noted the seriousness in his eyes. As much as she didn't want to believe him, it seemed like his story was true. She'd never seen his eyes like that before. They were open and dancing with anxiety, but empty at the same time, veiled in the sadness that what had just happened would disappear when his eyes would be closed to the world tonight.

"…But I will," Alec finished.

"Alec," Max began.

"I gotta go to Logan's," Alec reminded her.

Max frowned. "I really wish you wouldn't do that."

"Don't worry, Max. He's just gonna tell me some crap about taking care of you. Like I don't have your back already."

Alec turned to leave right after he'd finished the statement, leaving Max standing alone, a bouquet of lilies resting at her feet, and a world of questions and confusion filling her mind.

* * *

**a/n**: thanks for reading, as always! you know I love your thoughts! ...so... hit that button! 


	6. Chapter 6: Change of Plans

**Chapter 6: Change of Plans**

_Bad move, soldier, _Alec told himself as he rode to Logan's.

He didn't know what had come over him.

Scratch that, he was a guy, of course he knew. Max was extremely desirable, one of the most desirable women he'd ever come across.

He was soon discovering that her 'Queen Bitch' attitude wasn't all there was to the woman. That wasn't the problem, though. The problem was the curiosity burning within him that was building with each new 'day' of his trapped universe. She was like an itch he couldn't seem to scratch the right way. No matter how many times he'd tried to rid himself of the growing attachment to her, it just kept coming back, stronger than the last time.

_This is all her fault_, Alec concluded with a growl of protest.

Before Max, he'd been a happy-go-lucky genetically engineered killing machine: carefree, great with the ladies, and most importantly, he never wasted his time worrying about others.

It was a good life.

Until that day when Max had come crashing into his life, quite literally, as he recalled her foot knocking into his stomach the first day they'd met.

Now he wasn't quite sure of anything other than the fact that she drove him crazy- and not in a good way. Nothing 'good' would leave him where he was right now, reduced to playing her boy-toy and having to relive that dragged out conversation with her 'not-like-that' ex-boyfriend for the fourth time.

--------------------------------

"Logan," Alec greeted with a nod and a bored sigh.

Logan gave Alec a quick glance before returning to his fireplace. "What are you doing here, Alec?" he asked without facing him.

Alec looked to the ceiling in distress before answering. _What _am _I doing here?_ Following the day's procedure didn't seem to be getting him anywhere. "…Supplies," Alec mumbled.

"On the table," Logan barely replied.

Alec's eyes rolled over the large box. He walked over to the table before suddenly turning back to Logan. "What's her favorite flower, Logan?"

"What?"

Max was driving Alec crazy after only a few days of being around her with no escape. Surely Logan, who had _chosen _to be with her, at least knew the little things that Max freely shared with Alec to keep her in his thoughts.

"Max. I just wondered what her favorite flower was," Alec repeated.

Logan's eyes narrowed at Alec. "I can't help you there, Alec. If you want to get her something nice, you're gonna have to figure that out for yourself."

"I know you're upset about Max and I-"

"Listen," Logan cut Alec off, "I'm not gonna stand here in my own house and let _you _tell _me _how I feel. You got your supplies, you got your girl. Just, please, take the box and leave."

Alec almost laughed at the statement. He had nothing. He didn't even have tomorrow. "I'm sorry," he said to the older man. "It's not like that-"

"Leave me out of whatever you're planning with Max," Logan interrupted. "I only care about one thing."

"What's that?"

"Treat her right."

Alec nodded. "So… roses?"

"I must be one big joke to you!"

_Actually, today, _I'm _the joke_, Alec thought to himself. "I don't know what you're talkin' about, Logan. I was just wondering-"

"It doesn't matter, Alec- what her favorite flower is, what's her 'sign'. Max isn't some girl whose life you can just charm your way into."

"No," Alec agreed, surprised with the answer. Logan didn't know. He'd been in love with the woman for nearly two years now, and he didn't seem to know the first thing about her.

"Thanks, Logan," Alec offered, "…for the supplies." He turned around to leave; he'd fulfilled his reason in coming.

But he stopped when he realized he hadn't heard it- the assumed reason why Max had chosen Alec over Logan, the phrase he'd worked to avoid the last time he'd come. _Someone who understands her better. _Only this time, when he was prepared to suffer through it, it was absent from the conversation. That offered him a comforting feeling. Maybe it was clear enough in his own actions that it didn't need to be said aloud today.

"It's sunflowers," Alec told the man quietly. He had first intended to use it as a test to see how well Logan knew Max. Then, during their conversation he'd planned on using it against him. But as he left Logan standing alone in his flat, Alec said the words to show their unmistakable differences. Maybe those little details of Max didn't matter to Logan, just as her past was another aspect to her that the man casually overlooked. But Alec was finding more and more that he would never be satisfied with only the knowledge of Max that was skin deep.

She'd unknowingly touched his desires and curiosity, leaving a quiet fire burning idly within him that Alec knew would ignite at her taste. He hoped silently that he could hold himself together throughout the day to keep his attraction carefully masked so that he could find out more about this woman.

It was like a lightbulb flashed on in his mind. _That's it! I have to understand her._ It didn't have much logic behind it, but Alec couldn't shake it from his head. He finally felt like he'd found a solution to escaping his never-ending day.

As he considered again how long Logan had been with her, a light smirk came across his face. _I better not be stuck in this day for two years!_

------------------------------------

Alec walked through the gates of Terminal City and headed straight for the center, where he knew everyone was gathered.

The place was crowded, as expected, everyone beaming out of happiness, their faces glowing in hope and a sense of true pride.

Max's brown orbs twinkled into his eyes as she spotted him from across the room. A tint of pink brushed onto her cheeks as she met his stare.

Alec was worried for a moment that she was pissed or uncomfortable thanks to his abrupt kiss earlier. It seemed she was worried, too, that maybe he still wouldn't be feeling himself. But as their stares interlocked, both realized that everything was fine with the other, and a relief came over the pair. Max's lips finally curved upward in a light grin at the sight of him and the knowledge that nothing was wrong.

"And here he is!" Max told the crowd, clearly referring to Alec.

The room erupted with clapping and expectant faces all looking at him.

Alec walked to the center of the room and clapping died down to give way for a speech. Alec nodded to them all before beginning. "This is the moment we've all been waiting for!" he started off.

"Freedom!" he shouted dramatically before his voice became quieter and he began speaking impromptu. "But what does it mean? We've always managed, haven't we? Even when they were against us."

Alec noted the concerned look in Max's challenging eyes.

Alec almost laughed out of amusement. "It's okay, Max," he said aloud, into the mic for everyone to hear. "I'm not gonna screw this up."

Max opened her mouth in shock and slight embarrassment, about to protest, when the rest of the room laughed lightly at the comment.

"Someone told me something today that I just can't get out of my head," he went on. "They said that we were beautiful. Beautiful mistakes."

Max's face went white as she recalled the words she'd confided to Alec earlier. She could only wait for him to continue.

"I don't think we're mistakes. Maybe we didn't come out the way they planned, our 'Manticore wit'."

The room laughed at this statement.

"We're not always emotionless, dutiful soldiers, are we?

"No, guys. We're more than just soldiers that took on other human traits by some mistake or flaw in our genetics.

"You see, we're not just celebrating the ability to live here. We've been doing that for awhile now. What we're celebrating is freedom to be ourselves, to go beyond that label of 'soldier'.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not just a number. I'm not '494'. My name is Alec. And you all know Max. And this kid is Deeter." Alec pointed at the X6 in the crowd as he said his name.

"Who named you, Deeter? Was that in your genetic encoding?"

"No…," Deeter trailed, somewhat nervously.

Alec found the reaction amusing, maybe even cute. The kid had no qualms about being a little punk when it was just Alec. Apparently, he wasn't as self-assured with a bunch of eyes on him.

"Was it your CO?" Alec continued.

"…It was me. I picked it out," Deeter answered, finishing more strongly than he'd started.

"You picked it out. You see, that's freedom," Alec finished. He faced Deeter and spoke more quietly, but still into the mic. "I like it, by the way," Alec said to the kid, who beamed at the compliment.

"So let's celebrate already!"

Clapping erupted throughout the room again, as well as a few cheers.

Alec stepped down from the podium and found Max again in the crowd. She had it carefully masked, but Alec could still tell that he'd given her a good bit of confusion in his speech. She couldn't tell if he was sincere or not in words.

"Hey, Max. Did ya miss me while I was gone?" he couldn't help asking with a smirk.

"Hard to miss a constant pain in your ass," Max answered, arms folded. But the thin smile on her face showed Alec that despite her front, she did enjoy seeing him.

"That hurts, Max," Alec told her, feigning concern as he held a hand over his heart.

"Good speech," Max offered a small compliment.

Alec grinned in appreciation. "Thanks. But you know, that's not all I'm good at." He couldn't resist wiggling his brow at the suggestive comment.

Alec's grin was answered with a slap across the face.

Alec was only more amused at the action. A slap from Max was becoming more playful instead of annoying every day.

But that didn't stop him from dramatically expressing his front of pain at the gesture. "Ow! What was that for? I thought you said 'good job'?"

Max shrugged innocently. "That's for making fun of me in front of everyone. You're lucky I don't kick your ass."

Alec laughed at her anger. "_You're _lucky I didn't say more."

"I wouldn't have let you," Max insisted.

Before Alec could make a rebuttal, Max ended their banter with a change of the subject. "So, how's Logan?"

The question didn't shake the grin from Alec's face. "Logan…," he trailed. "He doesn't know much about you, does he?"

Max frowned at the comment. "What did you do?" she asked accusingly.

Alec held up his hands in an attempt to express that there was nothing wrong. "Hey, calm down. I didn't tell him anything."

Max only narrowed her glare, clearly unconvinced.

"I just told him your favorite flower. That's all."

Max's eyes softened, again surprise filling them, before she quickly recovered, eyes shuttering once to reveal a blank stare. "He still thinks-"

"He still thinks we're together," Alec told her. "Just like everyone else here. Which reminds me, I think I should be with you tonight at Josh's, don't you? Wouldn't want people to think we're having a lover's quarrel so early into our relationship." After a pause, he reconsidered. "But then we'd have to make up. That's the best part of fighting."

Max shoved him lightly. "You're such an ass, you know that?"

"'S what you keep tellin' me," Alec replied innocently, a smirk still adorning his face.

"And you're such a liar."

"Define 'liar'."

"You talk like you've actually had a relationship before. You know, as opposed to one-night stands."

Alec shrugged. "Okay, so you got me there. You're my first."

Max felt a warmth creep over her cheeks. "We're not really-"

But Alec silenced her by holding a finger up to her lips. He felt her gasp before he removed his touch. "Shhh. You didn't think this one through, did ya, Max? Better not let a slip like that out tonight at Josh's. Wouldn't want to blow your cover, would ya?"

Max found herself unable to argue with him. "I didn't think…," she admitted. "I'm sorry."

Alec looked completely confused. "For what?"

"Your first relationship shouldn't be… you know, completely fake."

"Wasn't yours?" Alec asked just to be a jerk.

Max shoved him, as expected. "Ass," she insulted him, but it came out sounding more playful than serious.

"Get it out while you can, Max. You can't treat me this way at Josh's tonight."

"Hey," Max said suddenly. "How do you know about Joshua, anyway? Did I tell you that earlier?"

"I told you, Max," Alec said simply. "I'm having déjà vu."

"Oh…," Max trailed. Her face looked concerned, her brow furrowed in worried thought. Alec only hoped he'd have the answer to whatever her next question was.

"Please tell me Josh isn't cooking macaroni again," Max said finally.

Alec couldn't stop the laughter from escaping him.

"Hey!" Max protested his amusement with a punch to his shoulder. "What are you laughing at?"

"Max, I'm stuck in the same day and all you're worried about it is eating macaroni."

"Well you don't seem too concerned," Max pointed out.

Alec hadn't really noticed, but she was right. "I don't know. This is the first time I've been… okay with this whole thing…"

Alec was thankfully cut short of his open comment by an X6. "Max! Alec! It's snowing! Come and sled with us!"

Max tried to decline. "Hey, you know I would love to, but Alec and I have something really important to sort out right now."

Alec was surprised to find that his problem took priority with Max. Her concerns were pointless, though. He had no idea how to escape from his endless day.

"Nonsense," Alec brushed off her concerns with a light wave of his hand. "I'm fine, Max," he insisted. "And besides, I can't have my reputation being questioned here. You know I'm gonna kick your ass at this, don't you?"

Max cocked her head at the challenge. "Oh, really? I don't care what reality you're stuck in, Pretty Boy- you still could never beat me. Besides, right now we have stuff to deal with."

"We can do it later," Alec offered.

"When?" Max asked impatiently, one hand on her hip.

"Tomorrow," Alec answered with an arrogant smirk.

Max opened her mouth to protest the smart remark, being that if Alec was right, there _was _no tomorrow, when her face was struck with a snowball, ending all thought abruptly.

She turned to see the culprit, a cute X6 waiting expectantly and holding out a sled. "Come on!"

"Nice one!" Alec told the kid impressively before offering a high-five that was quickly returned.

"Oh, that's it!" Max said with a grin. "You boys are _all _goin' down!" With that, she ripped the sled right out of the kid's hand and made her way confidently toward the hill.

-----------------------------------------

Alec was enjoying Max's carefree attitude. If he'd known a little sledding would loosen her up, he would have shoved her down a hill sooner.

Right as Alec was about to slide down the hill for the fourth time, Max jumped onto the sled and shoved him forward. "Move it. I'm going down this time."

"You've gone twice as many times as me!" Alec complained. "What ever happened to sharing with your fellow man?"

"First of all," Max argued, "I was talking about sharing our scarce belongings when I said that, and not taking turns sledding. And secondly, you're forgetting the rule that's above all others."

"Which one is that?" Alec asked, holding his grip on the sled in a determined effort to stay on.

"I'm right and you're wrong," Max said in an innocent voice.

Alec was about to point out how wrong that statement was, when one of the X6's complained, interrupting their bickering. "Hey, are you going down or what? I want to go again!"

Max rubbed his head playfully. "Keep your shirt on! Alec was just about to _get off! _Right, Alec?"

"I don't think so," Alec disagreed. "I'm not going anywhere. My turn. I'll be back before you know it."

"Alec!" Max complained. "Get off!"

_Carefree? _Alec suddenly was reconsidering his thoughts on Max. Apparently, she couldn't even have fun without arguing with him. Not that it mattered. Her protests only brought him amusement. Because he definitely wasn't budging.

"Forget it, Max. You're just gonna have to practice on your patience."

Before Max could make another reply, she felt the sled move suddenly, and she had to wrap her arms around Alec so not to fall off as they took off at a high speed down the hill.

The laughing of the X6 became quieter and quieter as they flew further down the steep hill.

Having Max cling onto him gave Alec an idea. He had to take advantage of the situation! He purposely leaned to the side to maneuver the sled so that the ride was bumpier.

"Alec!" Max complained in his ear, but he could hear the lightness in her voice. The fact was flying down a hill at top speed was too much fun to really complain.

Once they'd made their way to the bottom, Max shoved Alec into the snow. "Jerk!" she barely replied before turning around to blur back up the steep hill.

But before she could move an inch, Alec's hand gripped onto her ankle, causing her to lose her balance and fall on top of him.

Max didn't move, but took advantage of her position to shove him further into the snow. She frowned at him as she stared down at his smirking face. "Thanks a lot, Alec! Now I'm all wet."

"Hey!" Alec said with a light laugh, "That's what you get for knocking me into the snow."

Max made a move to get up, but Alec held onto her. Having her so close to him reminded him of his new plan to make it to tomorrow. He had to ask her something.

"Alec," Max protested with a glare. "I'm not doing this again."

"What would you do if you weren't a transgenic?" Alec asked her suddenly.

"What?"

"I mean, what if you weren't designed at Manticore, and there was no Terminal City. If you were really free. What would you do with your life?"

Max frowned, but it was softer than hers usually were. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "You'd think after the screwed up life I've had, I could answer you with a million things.

"I mean, some days, I really wish I could just disappear, fly under the radar, …be normal. But then I remember all of us, every transgenic, and I know that I wouldn't have it any other way."

After a pause to think about it more, Max smiled at him. "A bike messenger," she finished with a joke. "What about you?"

"An underground cyber journalist."

Max shoved him again, and this time withdrew from his arms to stand on her own two feet. "Come on, why can't you tell me? It doesn't matter, right? I'm just gonna forget tomorrow. Isn't that how this thing works?"

Alec opened his mouth, about to protest, when he realized that she had a good point. "I can't answer. 'Cuz you're right. I wouldn't have it any other way."

He was surprised at how true the statement was, but there was no denying it. Try as he might to imagine himself anywhere else, he couldn't. "A bike messenger," he said finally with a smirk.

"Copycat," Max teased.

Alec shrugged. "I _do _have some cat in my cocktail."

"Joshua!" Max blurted, as the phrase reminded her of their friend.

"Relax," Alec said. "We're not gonna be late."

"Well, thanks to you and your stunt, I gotta change out of these wet clothes, which by the way, are starting to get a little chilly."

Alec nodded. "Okay, fine. You go on ahead, and I'll show-off for the kids a little longer in the meantime."

Max rolled her eyes. "Fine. You're not gonna back out on me, are you?"

"I'll be there!" Alec assured her. "You're my girl, right?"

"Just… don't be late," Max told him before heading off in the direction of her apartment.

* * *

**a/n: **thanks to everyone that reviewed from the last chap, and thanks for reading! 


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